Gang Busting
by CatsCradle22
Summary: Lucy's the daughter of a gang lord. Natsu is part of a guild bent on taking down that gang. It all starts one fateful night. Will they join forces? Who will win the epic battle to come? And why can't Gray keep his clothes on? Read and find out! It's rated T for safety...
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I wrote this from a dream that I had. I've been thinking hard and I decided to develop this into a story! So please enjoy!**

**Of course, I don't own any of Fairytail or its members. Hiro Mashima does and he does a great job too!**

Chapter 1

It was a part of her life that she just tried to ignore. Ever since the day she'd found out what kind of business her father was really part of she had grown to hate her life. The riches, the brand name clothing, the fancy parties, the expensive gifts, her car… All of it was paid for in blood. Her father was the leader of the most violent and bloodthirsty gang in the entire city of Magnolia. Her father was the leader of the Gremlins. She'd heard stories of the terrible murders and faked suicides that members of the gang committed. She'd always thought it was horrible but when she found out it was her own father who ordered each and every one of those deaths… The thought more than disgusted her. She hadn't stopped throwing up for days after that. Of course, her father had no idea she knew. He still kept up the lie. He gave her gifts and sent her on many vacations with anyone she wanted to go with. This usually meant she went by herself. She wasn't allowed to have any friends. Except her Spirits. They were her only hope. Yes, Lucy Heartfilia was a lonely girl.

Part of her wished she had never found out the truth but another part of her was angry that it had been kept from her. Even her Spirits had known about it. When she'd brought out Loke (or Leo the Lion) and demanded to know why nobody had told her, he looked rather uncomfortable and eventually admitted that while they had known about this, they didn't want her to be sad so they had kept it quiet. Ever since then, they were under oath that they would tell her everything. For the first few weeks, she locked herself into her room, afraid that her father would somehow find out that she knew. When nothing happened, she just tried to ignore it. Then she got to thinking, "_Maybe I can find a way to stop him._" And that idea has been plaguing her ever since.

In fact, it was that very idea that led her to this alleyway. She was currently hiding behind a trashcan wondering why she hadn't thought to think this plan further. Like maybe decide just _how_ she was going to stop them? Sure, she'd followed her father's thugs to the house of an influential politician but how exactly was she planning on stopping them? It struck her that potentially, the only way to stop these men was to kill them. And could she do that? Could she ask that of her Spirits?

While she was having this internal conflict, she failed to notice the two newcomers to the alleyway. "We heard they were gonna be here baka now where are they?" a distinctly male voice said. Lucy stiffened. Now what? "They are supposed to be in this house here. I know it! This time I got the right information." Another distinctly male voice snapped. Lucy cautiously peeked out from behind the trash can. She couldn't make out the details but she saw two men standing head to head in the alley. "Look just climb up the piping. We have to save that rich guy or we won't get our money." The one on the left said. Lucy's eyes widened. They were trying to help the politician! He was the only possible rich guy near here so that had to be it. Except… the other guy was climbing up the wrong house.

It was now or never. This was her chance to possibly save an innocent man from dying. Though it would also be the start of her life being in constant jeopardy. The man was getting higher on the piping. She had to do something. She stood up fast. "Wait!" she said, loud enough to get their attention but not loud enough to be heard inside. Immediately, she was slammed up against the wall by the guy who was still on the ground. Her air supply was quickly running out and yet she felt strangely calm. "Who are you?" the man asked his voice like ice. "C-can't… b-breathe." She wheezed. At this point the other man had jumped off the pipes to see what was going on. "Let her breathe Gray she's only a girl." He said. Gray reluctantly took his arm off of her throat and she doubled over, coughing. When she'd gotten her breath back, she looked to the man who had been climbing the building. "The guy you're trying to save is in this building not that one." She said. Gray's eyes narrowed. "How would you know that?" he asked. Now it was Lucy's turn to frown. How would she answer that one? "I… I just know. Look if you want to save him you have to trust me! And you don't have much time either!" she said. Her eyes plead with them to believe her.

There was silence for a very tense minute then Gray's partner spoke up. "Fine. We'll climb this one." Lucy sagged with relief. "But you have to come with us." He added. "What?!" she exclaimed. "Natsu what are you thinking?" Gray exclaimed right after her. The man – Natsu – crossed his arms. "Well if she's lying then we can make sure she never tells a lie again. She won't get away that way. And if she isn't lying then… well she can go home." He explained. Gray thought for a moment then nodded. "Alright fine. But you're the one carrying her up there." He said gruffly. "Hey wait! Doesn't my opinion count for anything?" Lucy demanded. Natsu and Gray turned to her. "No." they both said.

**Hey there readers! This is my first Fanfic so if you could be nice… it would be appreciated. R&R people! I do want to hear if you like it or not! Let me know if I should continue. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I have a few chapters already written but I want to post them slowly so you have time to read them. Once I run out of pre-made chapters, I plan on updating once a week. It will probably end up being Sundays. I'm in school so I'm pretty busy…**

**Anyway! Another chapter of Gang Busting is here! Once again, I own nothing but the idea for this story! Hiro Mashima owns Fairytail!**

Chapter 2

Lucy stared open-mouthed at the boy kneeling at her feet. His back was to her and his hands propped him up. "Well? Get on already!" Natsu said. This did not look in any way shape or form safe but what was she going to do? She couldn't run; Gray was blocking her only exit. Slowly, she climbed onto his back. He gripped her thighs and Lucy blushed. Standing, he looked at the wall they had to climb. He took a minute to plan out how he was going to do it then said, "Wrap your legs around me." Lucy's blush deepened and she was glad for the darkness. "W-what?" she stuttered. "Just do it or you'll fall off. I need my hands for climbing not holding you up." He replied. If it was possible, Lucy's blush became even darker as she wrapped her legs around him.

As he began to climb, her arms tightened around him as well. She was uncomfortable doing it but she also didn't want to fall off. It seemed to take forever and each second passing made Lucy even more worried about the politician inside. She was glad when they finally snuck in through the window and she could see the senator sleeping peacefully. She was unceremoniously dumped off of Natsu's back. "Umf!" she gasped as she landed on the floor. Natsu and Gray seemed to be having some sort of conversation with gestures and eye contact. It was looking like an argument. How could these two save that senator if they were constantly arguing?! Lucy was about to smack both of them really hard but then she noticed a shadow appearing in the opposite window. Her eyes widened and she darted behind a large easy chair in the room. If she were seen, and the assassin wasn't taken care of, her father would know she had been here and that would be too hard to explain away.

Her action momentarily startled the two boys out of their silent scuffle. It was then that Natsu stuck his head in the air and sniffed. "They're here." He whispered. Gray nodded and they hid on either side of the window, waiting for the assassin, or assassins, to make their entrance. Lucy peeked out from behind her hiding place. It would be best if she could leave now without being seen by either party. She began to inch her way toward the door. Unfortunately, the door was closed and it opened in so she wouldn't be able to leave without getting noticed. She ducked under a table to wait out the… well whatever was about to go down in that room.

The assassin at the window was smart. He'd been instructed to make this quiet. He carefully cut out the glass in the window and pushed it into the room. Then he himself stepped in and stood slowly, surveying his kill. He walked over to the bedside and pulled out his knife. He liked the way it gleamed in the moonlight. He was preparing to kill the man when a voice said… or rather whispered, "And just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Whirling around, the assassin brandished his knife, expecting a measly servant. Instead, he got a punch in the gut which knocked all the wind from his lungs. He couldn't make a sound now even if he'd wanted to. Gray and Natsu made quick work of the man. They made sure he was unconscious and then tied him up with a note left for the police.

"That was so boring!" Natsu whispered. Gray frowned and nodded. "That old gang boss is getting soft." He agreed. They both spun when they heard someone coming out from under the table. Lucy looked at the assassin tied up on the ground then at Natsu and Gray. "I-is he dead?" she whispered. "What? No! Of course not! We turn them in to the police!" Gray whispered exasperated. Lucy considered this for a second then said, "Oh, ok." And then she bolted from the room.

Natsu was surprised for a second then whispered loudly, "Hey wait! Dammit!" He ran after her but she'd gotten a pretty good head start. She got out of the house and about two blocks down the street before he caught her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him in an effort to get her to stop. She shrieked and began to fall backwards. Closing her eyes she expected a large bump on her head but all she felt was warm arms around her back. Opening one eye she saw Natsu looking down at her. This was the first time she'd gotten a good look at him. In the house and the alley it had been very dark but here on the street his features were illuminated by a street lamp. He wore a dark vest with gold trim and a white scaled scarf around his neck. His pants were white and made of a canvas material. But what caught her eyes was his hair. It was a pink, almost rose color. His eyes were onyx orbs that looked down at her with mild concern. She could feel his muscles holding her up and knew he was well built from when she'd had to hold onto him as he scaled the wall. All in all, he was relatively attractive. "_Whoa there Lucy! You can't even consider that! He is an enemy of your father and you are… well you are your father's daughter. It would never work!_"

It started to get awkward right about then and Lucy said, "Um… mind letting me up now?" Natsu flushed a bit and helped her up. "Right, sorry." He said. She brushed herself off and patted down her hair. She looked him up and down one last time and then turned away. "Well, bye!" she said. She began to hurry away but Natsu quickly stepped in front of her, blocking the way. "Wait! How did you know that man was going to be attacked tonight?" he asked. And there was the question Lucy had been trying to run away from the entire night. She didn't like that she knew and she didn't like how she knew. And Natsu could NEVER know how she knew. "I just did ok?!" she snapped. "Now get out of my way and let me go home!" Natsu folded his arms across his chest. "Look I know me and Gray were a little rough with you but that's because we were getting lots of false information lately. See we're trying to stop the man that's behind all of this. We don't know who he is yet but when we find out…" a menacing look popped into his eyes that made Lucy pale a bit. "Anyway… if you have an information source that's accurate then I want to know who it is because then I can use it too." He finished.

Lucy was quiet for a bit but then said, "I'm not telling you how I get my information. I don't know who you are or who you work for but even that doesn't matter. I only helped you because there was nothing I could do myself. We will probably never see each other again so just let me go home in peace alright?!" Natsu frowned a bit. "I work for a guild called Fairy Tail. We formed just after those Gremlins did because somebody has to stop that gang. I guess if you don't want to tell me how you get your information that's your decision." He said reluctantly. Lucy sighed in relief. It was beginning to look like he was going to let this drop!

Or not. "Why don't you become my informant! I would give you a cut of the pay we receive for taking care of the assassins!" he said enthusiastically. He looked at her with a huge grin on his face. His hands were clenched into fists and he looked like a kid in a candy store. Lucy could feel herself giving in. A partnership with him could be just what she needed to combat her father! He was strong and so was Gray. And not only that but they had an entire guild behind them! But… he could never find out who she was. And she had to be careful about being seen with him. If her father ever found out about him, not only his life but hers would be essentially over. And her father's eyes were everywhere. She glanced back up at him, not realizing that she'd looked down while considering her options. "No." she said. She tried to say it forcefully but it came out rather shakily. Natsu picked up on that right away. "Why not?" he asked. Lucy decided to be as truthful as possible to him. He seemed like a nice guy once he trusted you. "Look you shouldn't trust me at all. If you're seen with me it could lead to a whole lot of trouble. You seem like a nice guy and I don't want to know that I was the cause of your death. So I can't help you. If you knew who I really was you'd understand… and probably hate me." She finished.

Natsu considered that for a second before asking, "Who's out to kill you?" That question shocked Lucy. Her eyes widened and she even took a step back. She looked into his eyes trying to figure out what brought that question on. He noticed her confusion and elaborated, "Well if someone is going to kill me just for being seen with you that must mean you're in danger too. And if you think that I would hate you because of who you are then you really must be in danger. You should come back to the guild with me. We'll protect you. You can even live there." Lucy's eyes filled with large tears and she looked away. "T-that means a lot Natsu." She said. "The thing is… it's complicated. Right now… I'm not in any danger but if I keep hanging out with you or I'm seen with you a lot I will be. I-I know some things I shouldn't and… and I have to be really careful. So thanks. Really, for the offer. But I can't go with you and I can't ever see you again. Believe me, you'll be glad I'm doing this when you figure everything out. Because even having just met you I know that you'll figure everything out eventually." She finished.

Natsu didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Lucy stepped around him and began walking home, somehow knowing he wouldn't stop her. "Wait a second." He said. She turned back to him, tears still sparkling in her eyes. "I never got your name." he said. Lucy was quiet for a second, deciding how to respond. She was stuck in an impossible situation and she desperately wanted to be saved. And that was why she answered, "Lucy. I'm Lucy." Natsu nodded. She turned to go when his voice stopped her again. "Lucy… I promise one day I'll save you. I'll get you out of… whatever it is that makes you this sad." She turned back to him, fully realizing the gravity of what he was saying. One look at his face said he understood it too. A single tear fell from her eyes as her lips slowly spread into a radiant smile. The smile got Natsu straight in the heart. Then she turned and ran before he could see her cry.

Natsu didn't know what situation she was in but to him it didn't matter. He made a vow to himself that night. He was going to make Lucy smile like that again. Only this time, there wouldn't be any tears with it.

**And there you have it! This chapter had some mild NaLu in it and I promise it will get better but you'll have to wait and watch. And yes, before you ask, then entire fight dialogue was really in whispers. R&R people! Constructive criticism is welcome! **

**Love to all my readers,**

**CatsCradle22**


	3. Chapter 3

**I just wanted to thank everyone so much for the reviews. I've been having a rough week (IKR already!) and they make me happy! So keep it up people and I shall try to please you with this next chapter. This next one is pretty much all about Natsu with some hints at revelations in the end. I hope it isn't too boring... Anyway, I still don't own any part of FairyTail... BUT! I do own my ideas and the computor I type this on so HA! Onward! To the story! :D**

Chapter 3

Natsu sat at the bar in the guild hall staring despondently into his drink. For once, he wasn't taking part in the guild brawl that was currently underway. "My, my Natsu!" Mirajane Strauss, the barmaid, said as she leaned across the counter towards him. "I've never seen you this depressed before! I'll bet it's a girl that's got you down!" She was only joking of course. The only possibility of a relationship Natsu had was with her little sister Lisanna and that had fallen through after Lisanna's disappearance. She'd been found but so much time had passed and both Natsu and Lisanna had changed based on experiences. They were good friends but the spark of romance had, sadly, died. Natsu looked up at Mirajane, surprise written in his features. "How did you know?" he asked. Mira's eyes widened before she collapsed in a faint.

"O-Oi! Mira!" Natsu said nervously. "What have you done Natsu!" a scary female voice demanded from right behind him. Natsu cringed and turned slowly to see Erza Scarlet, the strongest female mage in the guild, towering over him with a demonic aura surrounding her. "I-I didn't do anything!" he spluttered. Erza apparently didn't believe him because she lit into him and had him apologizing for unknown things in a matter of seconds. The commotion roused Mira and drew the attention of the rest of the guild. Once Mirajane came to, she sat up and grabbed Natsu by the collar, effectively ending his turn as a punching bag. "Tell me what you meant!" she demanded in the sweet yet forceful way only she could manage. Natsu sat back on the barstool and sighed. "Do you remember that job that me and Gray took last night?" he asked. Mira nodded. She took all requests and recorded who did which job so she remembered handing a job out to Gray and Natsu earlier the day before. At hearing his name, Gray came over and joined them to hear what this was all about. At this point, most of the guild had quieted to hear the story. Especially when they heard something about Natsu and some girl.

"We got to the house that the rich guy was supposed to be in except we were given the wrong information. I was scaling the wall of the wrong house when this girl comes out of nowhere-"Natsu was cut off by Gray who said, "She came out from behind a trash can." Natsu glared at him. "I'm the one telling it not you so shut it!" he snapped. Gray clenched his fists, the air around him getting colder. Natsu's fist was also clenched and small flames were beginning to flicker around his knuckles. "That's enough you two! Let Natsu continue the story!" Erza demanded. "Aye sir!" the two replied, saluting her.

"Anyway like I was saying… she comes out of nowhere and tells me it's the wrong house. She shows us the right one and we take her with us because I'm just tired of getting the wrong information. She was right and we took care of the assassin no problem. But then she just bolted." Natsu said. Gray nodded. "That's right she did." He put in. "Didn't you go after her though? Did you ever catch up with her?" he asked. Natsu glared at him again. "Of course I caught up with her! Let me tell the damn story Ice Pick!" Gray was going to respond but one glare from Erza made him think twice. She nodded at Natsu to signal him to continue. "I caught up with her and asked her where she got her information. She looked scared when I asked her then got all mad saying she wouldn't tell me and stuff like that." He continued.

"Please don't tell me you're trying to find a way to get information out of her." Mira said. The idea would ruin the wedding plans she was making in her head. Natsu shook his head and continued. "I asked her to become the informant. I told her about Fairytail and that she could visit every day and how fun it would be. Then she said I shouldn't trust her and she wouldn't be my informant because if she did I would end up dead and she didn't want that to happen. So I asked her who was out to kill her because obviously she's in some kind of trouble. I offered to let her stay here and told her that we would protect her. Then she got all sad and said thanks for the offer but she isn't in trouble yet but she would be if she kept seeing me… or something like that. Then she ran off again. I have to get her out of whatever trouble she's in!" he finished. Mira looked like she was close to fainting again so her brother, Elfman, moved nearer to her in case she needed to be caught.

The guild was silent for a few moments as the whole story sunk in. A small voice popped up from the crowd, "Natsu-san is right! We have to help her!" Wendy Marvell pushed her way through the crowd to stand beside his stool. Slowly, other members of the guild started nodding their heads. Then questions started to fly. Amid it all, a blunette made her way up to the bar and asked, "What is she like Natsu?" He looked at her and said, "I don't know her all that well Levy but she seemed like a nice girl." He brightened a bit. "Hey I know! Why don't you all meet her!" he suggested. Levy brightened up too. She loved making new friends, even if she was a bit shy. Then her face fell. "But Natsu if being seen with us will get her in trouble we shouldn't." she said. Natsu frowned as he remembered that little detail. Then he grinned again. "It's only if she's seen with us in this city! If we took her somewhere outside the city…" Levy grinned and nodded.

The guild prepared for meeting Lucy as if it was a huge affair. They hand picked a group to act as representatives. In the end, the group consisted of Natsu and his companion Happy (the flying blue cat who could talk), Wendy and her companion Charle, Levy, Mira, Lisanna, Gray, Erza, Cana, Romeo and the Master, Makarov Dreyar. It was a surprise to many that the master wanted to go. Once the questions had started to die down, the master had called Natsu into his office. There he made Natsu go over the story again in more detail. "What was her name?" he asked. "She said her name was Lucy." Natsu had answered. The master frowned in concentration. He, of course, knew who was behind the Gremlins but was not willing to tell the rest of the guild because he had hope that if they defeated enough of his men, Jude Heartfilia would give up being a crime boss. However, the master also knew that Jude had a daughter. What he didn't know was whether or not Jude was grooming her to be his successor or if she even knew what he did as a night job. "What did she look like Natsu?" he asked. Natsu thought about this one for a minute. "She had blond hair and was shorter than me. Her eyes are brown I think and she smells like vanilla." He said.

The master had to roll his eyes at that one. Trust Natsu to be terrible at describing how someone looked. And to throw in that little detail about smell. He dismissed Natsu but just before Natsu left his office he added, "I think I'll go with you to meet this Lucy." Natsu grinned and ran down to tell Mira. Once Makarov was left alone, he opened his secret locked drawer in his desk and pulled out an old album. He flipped the pages until he found the picture he was looking for. "She looks just like you Layla." He said softly. Then he closed the album, put it away and sank into deep thought. This Lucy could be in more danger than she realized. Or she could be the biggest danger Fairytail had faced yet.

**And that's it for chapter 3! I hope everyone enjoyed it! The next chapter is in the editting stage and should be up sometime tomorrow. I think it's a bit better than this one so I'm sorry if this one bored you but please stick around for the next one! Anyway, R&R please minna! **

**Love to all my readers,**

**CatsCradle22**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lucy had woken up early that day. This surprised her due to the late nights she'd been having. It had been a few days since she'd helped Natsu and Gray save that rich politician. Lately, her father had been in a bad mood so Lucy had been trying to escape the house as much as she could to give him space. Well, that wasn't the only reason. She had a strange fear that if she were still in the house, he might just decide to blame her for his failure (which was technically true even if he had no idea) and then she would be… well probably dead. So she'd been leaving the house and wandering the city, sometimes shopping, sometimes just walking.

Today was no different. She was walking the streets aimlessly trying to think of a place to go. She didn't realize it until she got there, but her aimless walking had brought her to the house of the man she'd helped save. She stood on the sidewalk and stared at the house. One of the windows had its curtains drawn back and Lucy could see the man rolling around on the carpet tossing a laughing little boy up and down. The man's smile was almost as wide as his child's as he tossed and caught him. Lucy watched the scene and noticed a woman come in and, seeing the scene in front of her, burst into gales of laughter.

"They look happy don't they?" a voice to her left said. Lucy's heart jumped into her throat and she could have screamed if a tiny part of her brain hadn't recognized the voice. "Geez Natsu! You scared me!" she said, smacking him on the shoulder. "Ow! Sorry Luce I thought you saw me walk up." He said. They stood there in silence, watching the house. "What are you doing Natsu? I told you we can't be seen together." She said quietly. To anyone passing by, they were just two people staring at a house… which is still creepy and suspicious but neither one of them was thinking about that. "I know. But I told my guild about you and they want to meet you." He said. Lucy's eyes widened and she turned to him. "I can't do that Natsu! I can't put everyone in danger like that!" she exclaimed. He turned to face her as well. "I know! You can't be seen with us. But that only applies to the city right?" he asked. Lucy brought one hand up to cover her mouth. He didn't… but his wide grin told her he did. "C'mon!" he said, grabbing her other hand and proceeding to drag her with him.

Lucy couldn't help but notice how warm his hand was. And even though she knew they'd been spotted running out of the city by a few people, she found herself not caring. She'd never been allowed to meet new people unless her father approved of them and even then… none of them were her age. She'd been lonely for so long… it was past time for her to make some friends her own age… and who weren't her spirits. She almost crashed into Natsu's back when he stopped running and dropped her hand. "We're here." He announced. She peeked out from behind him and gasped. There was quite the crowd waiting for her. "Everyone! This is Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed. Lucy waved shyly at all of them. "Is this the entire guild Natsu?!" she asked. He just laughed. "No! There's a whole lot more than this! This is just the welcoming party!"

A blunette made her way out from the crowd and walked up to Lucy. Grasping her hands she smiled shyly and said, "My name's Levy McGarden. It's really nice to meet you Lucy." Lucy blushed a bit and gave Levy a small smile. "It's nice to meet you too Levy. " she said. Levy's smile grew and she tugged gently on Lucy's hands. "Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone!" she offered. Lucy nodded and followed Levy. Then the party truly started. Blankets were spread and food was laid out. Guild members would drift over to the group of girls surrounding Lucy and talk to her before drifting away again to play games. Lucy was laughing with the girls, looking as carefree as a feather blown by the wind. Natsu heard her laugh ring out across the meadow and looked over at the group she was with. She appeared to be laughing at something Mira or Lisanna had done. He was glad his plan had worked.

After a while, things started to calm down as some went to sleep in the afternoon sunlight. Lucy got up and sat under a tree by herself. She watched various members of the guild interact. Mirajane and her sister Lisanna were talking quietly about something, their brother Elfman sitting close by. Wendy and her flying, talking cat Charle were asleep on a blanket. Gray and Natsu were fighting off near the forest which Mira told her was actually normal. Gray had somehow lost his shirt and pants along the way. Happy was cheering Natsu on from a tree branch. Erza was heading over their way which didn't bode well for the pair. Erza was scary but Lucy knew she had a soft side. Anyone who eats that much cake must have a soft side. Levy had her nose buried in a book. Lucy smiled at that. Levy loved to read and so did she. If her situation were different, she would have offered to let Levy read books from her father's exstensive library but… she knew she couldn't do that. Dispite that, Levy and Lucy were getting along very well. Looking around the clearing once again, Lucy noticed that the only person she hadn't spotted was the master of the guild, Makarov.

"They're a rowdy bunch aren't they?" a rough voice said next to her. For the second time that day, Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin. "Do you people make a habit of coming up next to people unseen?!" she demanded, looking over at the tiny old man beside her. Makarov laughed. "My apologies Lucy!" he said. She shrugged and scooted over, giving him room to sit beside her. They were quiet for a minute before Makarov spoke again. "Do you want to know what kind of magic everyone uses?" he asked her. She turned to him and nodded. "I knew they all used magic but I didn't know if it would be rude to ask them what kind of magic they used." She admitted. Makarov leaned back against the tree and folded his arms around his head. "Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer. His magic is a lost art. I don't know if he told you but he was raised by a dragon named Igneel." He began. Lucy's eyes widened at this and she shook her head. "Well, I'll let him tell you about all that." Makarov said. Then he continued, " Wendy is also a Dragon Slayer but her element is Sky. She too was raised by a dragon named Grandine. She is relatively new to the guild but she looks up to Natsu as a big brother since their magic is the same. Levy is a Solid Script mage. This means she can write words and her words turn into themselves. So if she were to write the word 'iron' it would become a block of solid iron. She is also very good at translating old text." Makarov said as he looked at the young blunette with her nose in a book.

"Mira and Lisanna are take over mages, along with their brother Elfman who seems to have tagged along on this trip. Mira possesses Satan Soul which turns her into a demon. Lisanna turns into animals and Elfman has Beast Soul which turns him into a beast. Gray is an Ice Make mage. He basically just uses ice magic to forge weapons he uses for battle. Erza is our strongest female mage and she is called Titania. She uses Requip magic. She can requip into different armor or call forth different swords from the space around her." Makarov continued. Lucy now understood why Erza seemed so scary. She was always wearing armor but if she was the strongest girl in the guild… and Natsu was so strong himself yet he was afraid of her. She glanced back at Makarov, waiting for him to continue. Eventually, he did. "Cana is a Card mage. She reads cards and uses them to predict the outcomes of events. You would do well not to scoff at her magic. She is rarely wrong. Romeo is also a Fire mage but he isn't a Dragon Slayer. He looks up to Natsu as an older brother as well." Makarov finished as he looked at the young boy sleeping near Wendy on a blanket.

Lucy took a moment to process all of the new information then turned her face towards Makarov. "What about you? What kind of magic do you have?" she asked. Then she blushed. "I mean, if you are alright with telling me!" she added. Makarov smiled kindly at her. "I posess the magic of a Fairy Tail master but I also have Titan magic. I can grow to be the size of a titan." He said. Then a serious expression settled on his face as he turned to face her. "I can sense a magical energy about you too Lucy. What kind of magic do you use?" he asked. Lucy knew he would know if she were lying. She looked up at the sky and paused for a moment before answering. "I'm a Celestial Spirit mage." Makarov's eyes widened slightly. "Just like your mother." He said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Whew! I didn't have any time to write you readers a message when I posted the last chapter but I shall say a few words now. As always, thank you so much for reviewing. It keeps me going. I've been getting lots of ideas but incorperating them is going to be an artform. So the creativity line is slowing as I get my thoughts in order to keep bringing you quality chapters. Stay with me people, there are still a few more pre-made chapters left to hold you over while I work on the newest one. I'm just warning you now that the updates might slow down a bit after this week.**

**Anyway! I still don't own FairyTail (but oh if I did...) but I do own all the ideas that come from my brain! So enjoy the next chapter please minna!**

Chapter 5

Lucy gasped. "You knew my mother?!" she asked him. Makarov nodded. "Layla and I were good friends. I was even friends with her husband Jude for a while. It was a sad day when she died. Jude didn't handle it very well." He said. Lucy's face now wore a sad expression. "We've met once you know? You were very little so it wouldn't surprise me if you can't remember. Your mother brought you to meet me one day and I remember the tiny spark of magic I felt in you even though you were so young." Makarov said. Lucy thought for a minute then her eyes widened as she remembered.

_"Mama where are we going?" she asked as her mother carried her down the street. "Mama's going to introduce you to an old friend of hers." Her mother answered. Little Lucy grinned and clung to her mother's neck as they neared the door of a small house. Layla Heartfilia knocked three times on the door and it was opened quickly by a little man who's hair was graying. "He's tiny Mama!" Lucy cried, giggling at the man. Layla blushed and hushed her little girl. "I'm sorry Makarov-san! She hasn't got a filter yet." She apologized. Makarov just shook his head, smiling, and welcomed them. Once inside, Lucy asked to be put down and, once she was on the floor, she ran off to explore. She was opening the door to another room when a voice said, "Hey! Don't you know to knock before you go into other people's rooms?" Turning, she saw a boy a few years older than her with spiky blond hair glaring at her. Her eyes widened and started to fill with tears which seemed to slightly scare the boy. "Gomen!" she apologized. "I didn't know this was your room! I was just exploring." She said frantically. _

_The boy stepped closer and said, "Hey don't cry! It makes you look ugly. It's not really my room anyway. I'm just visiting Jii-chan." Lucy's eyes dried quickly and she looked back at him. "That tiny man is your grandpa?" she asked. The boy nodded. Then Layla's voice rang throughout the halls. "Lucy? Where are you? It's time to go!" she called. Lucy looked in the direction of her mother's voice. "Coming Mama!" she called. Turning away from the boy she started to walk back down the hall but didn't get too far before her mother and Makarov found her. "Lucy it's time to go. Oh! Did you meet Makarov-san's grandson?" she asked. Lucy nodded. Makarov noticed his grandson in the hallway and said, "You were being nice to Layla's daughter right Laxus?" Laxus nodded, frowning. Lucy's mother grabbed her hand and the walked to the door. "It was nice seeing you Makarov-san. Say goodbye Lucy." Layla said. Lucy turned and grinned, "Bye Laxus-san! By Jii-chan!" She waved and followed her mother out the door._

Makarov watched her face as she remembered. She looked wistful as she stared up at the clouds. "How's Laxus-san?" she asked. Makarov was mildly surprised that she remembered meeting his wayward grandson. "He's had a rough life so he's a bit rough around the edges but otherwise he's fine." He replied. She nodded. Then she looked at him, the question written all over her face. He waited for her to ask it. "So do you know what happened to my father after Mama died?" she asked softly. Makarov nodded and he could see the pain in her eyes. The expression actually aleveated his fears a bit. "I'm so sorry." She whispered. Then her voice grew stronger as she said, "I wish I could help. I only found out a few weeks ago but… to think that he does all of that… It is just disgusting. That is not the father I know. And I wish I could stop it… or help you but I can't! Surely you understand that?" she asked.

Makarov looked back out over the meadow. "I understand why you can't help us. You would be at great risk helping us. And the last thing I want is for the daughter of Layla to come to any harm. So I will make sure the guild stays away from you. But I think you can still help us. I have a plan that might work if you'd care to listen." He said. Lucy turned back to him, eyes wide. "If there's a way I can help you I would love to try!" she exclaimed. Makarov smiled. Lucy was a lot like her mother in many ways. "This plan does involve you telling the guild who you are." He said. Lucy's face fell. She looked at her hands folded in her lap. "But if they know… they'll hate me." She said quietly. Makarov put his hand on her knee. "They won't hate you. They will hate your father for putting you in this situation but if anything they will want you to come live at the guild." He said. He could tell she still couldn't quite believe him but he said, "Why don't I tell you the rest of the plan and you can decide then." Lucy nodded.

"You could go home and tell your father that while you were out wandering the streets you found a little girl crying. When you asked why she was crying, she told you that she was having trouble in school. Ask your father if he wouldn't mind letting you tutor the girl. It only works if he says yes which I know will be a bit of a stretch but that's why the girl will be Wendy. She's so much younger than you he shouldn't have too much of a problem letting you tutor her. Then you can pass on information while you 'tutor' her in your home." Makarov explained. Lucy considered it. It was a great plan, and possibly the only one that would work. But in order for it to work, she would have to tell everyone who she was and who her father was. The very thought scared her so much she wanted to puke. She'd just met some of these people and already she felt like she'd known them all her life. She desperately wanted them to like her. But they wanted to take down her father and so did she. In the end, that was what was most important. Even if they hated her, if she could stop all the killing her father was doing it would be worth it. She looked back at Makarov and said, "Alright. I'll do it. And I'll tell everyone who I am but… you have to promise me that you'll make sure they don't kill me when they find out." Makarov laughed. "Ah child! I promise I won't let those brats lay a hand on you to cause you harm! But they won't want to, you'll see!" he said.

They stood up and Lucy brushed the dirt off of her shorts. Everyone else was starting to stir from their naps or other activities. The sun was getting lower in the sky and they all knew it would be time to go home for the night very soon. Makarov clapped his hands a few times to get everyone's attention. When he had it he said, "Lucy has something she wants to tell you all." All eyes turned to her and she could feel their curiosity. She looked at all of them, her gaze resting longer on Natsu and Gray than it did on everyone else. Natsu could tell that she was afraid of something. The thought annoyed him because he didn't want her to be afraid of anything. "_Wait a second where did that come from? Eh, whatever._" He thought dismissively.

Lucy took a deep breath and said, "You all know that I helped Natsu and Gray find the right house a few nights ago when they saved that rich guy. I… I never told you how I knew about it but that's because I am afraid of what you'll think when you know. You've all been so nice to me and I had a great day. I wanted to thank you for that and I feel that you deserve to know the truth. And that is… My name is Lucy Heartfilia. My father is Jude Heartfilia, the leader of a gang known as the Gremlins." There was silence for a moment before Lucy continued, "A few weeks ago I was going to ask my father about something. I went to his office but I heard him having an argument on the phone. I was going to come back another time but then I heard him say something about killing. I listened at the door and basically heard him admit that he was the leader of the Gremlins. He was ordering the killing of that rich guy. I swear to you before that night I had no idea my father had anything to do with that gang! And I hate… I hate that I'm related to him!" she exclaimed. Mirajane took a few steps closer to Lucy. Natsu could smell the salty tears running down her face and his fist clenched in anger towards her father. "M-my father doesn't know that I know about him. I can overhear his plans and give you information but it would have to be in a way he wouldn't suspect. That's why I can't be seen with you all. Because if my father finds out, he'll kill me and then all of you." She said. "I know you probably hate me right now but… I want to help so I've agreed to the plan the master has thought up." She finished.

There was silence for a few moments before Natsu spoke. "Why didn't you just tell me that sooner Luce?" Her eyes widened, tears still falling. "Because! I'm the daughter of the man you all hate more than anyone else!" she exclaimed. "I'm his own flesh and blood!" Natsu shook his head. "We can't pick our families Lucy. But just because you're related to him doesn't mean you're responsible for all his crimes. You don't belong with him Luce. You're not mean like him, you're nice. You helped us save a man. You saw today how happy he was. He wouldn't have even been there if it wasn't for you. None of us here hate you so don't even think that! As far as I'm concerned that man isn't your family! We'll be your family Lucy! Right everyone?!" he cried. The guild cheered. Mirajane grabbed her hand and smiled at her. "You've got us Lucy. We'll make sure nothing happens to you." She said. Tears began to fall faster from Lucy's eyes. Levy grabbed her other hand. "I've always wanted a sister!" she exclaimed. That did it. Lucy sobbed as Mira, Levy and the other girls enfolded her into a huge group hug.

Makarov smiled at the scene before him. He knew the guild wouldn't be angry with her or hate her. "You knew who she was all along didn't you master." Erza said as she stood next to him, watching as well. Makarov nodded and Natsu, having overheard that came over and said, "Jii-chan! You knew?! Why didn't you say anthing?" he demanded. "It wasn't mine to say." He answered.

Lucy wasn't crying anymore. She was smiling softly at everyone. Now that she had them a huge warmth had spread over her like a blanket. The sun was sinking even lower in the sky and she gasped. "I have to get home or my father will wonder where I am!" she exclaimed. Erza heard this and looked at the sun, mildly surprised at how late it was. "Alright everyone! Say your goodbyes to Lucy and then start cleaning this place up! " she ordered. Everyone snapped to attention and some even saluted her. One by one, they said goodbye to Lucy. Wendy hugged her and said, "I hope your father agrees! Then I'll get to see you again Lucy-nee." Lucy smiled down at her and nodded. Natsu and Gray were the last two to say goodbye. "Gray where are your clothes?" Lucy asked after he gave her an awkward sideways hug. He looked down. "What the hell?! How did that happen!" he exclaimed. Then he went off in search of his clothing, the rest of the guild and Lucy laughing at him. "Natsu!" Erza called. Natsu flinched and immediately tried to figure out what he'd done wrong. "H-hai?" he replied. "Walk Lucy home!" Erza ordered. "Make sure nothing happens to her!" she added. "Aye sir!" he said.

Happy, the blue talking and flying cat, came with them. It was rare that he wasn't with Natsu. At first they walked in companionable silence then Lucy asked, "Did you mean what you said Natsu? About not hating me?" Natsu folded his arms behind his head and said, "You're still on about that? Of course I did. You didn't do anything wrong Luce." She smiled softly. "Jii-chan told me you were raised by a dragon." She said, changing the subject. The rest of the walk was filled with Natsu telling her all about Igneel. Happy added comments every now and then that made Lucy laugh.

They were about a block away from her house when Lucy stopped. "That's far enough Natsu." She said. "I don't want the guards seeing you. They'll report you to my father and he'll know who you are for sure." Natsu didn't like that but he could see she was serious. "Don't worry." She said. "If anything happens, I have my spirits with me!" She showed him her keys so that he would believe her. He nodded reluctantly when he saw her keys. "Fine…" he grumbled. She turned and walked down the sidewalk towards her house. About half way down the block she turned around and saw him still standing there, watching her leave. She remembered everything he'd done for her that day and her radiant smile spread across her face. She waved at him and watched as he raised his arm in response before she turned and finished the short walk home.

Natsu's breath caught when he saw her smile again. And this time, there were no tears. When she disappeared, he turned to go home only to come face to face with Happy. "You liiiiiike her!" he teased. Natsu flushed and yelled, "Do not!" Happy only laughed as they made their way back to the guild.

**Omg! Lucy knew a young Laxus! How will this play into the story? Don't worry, it will. Remember this memory because it will be referenced again in the story. There are so many possibilities... I can't wait to get to that part of the story. So R&R people. Let me know what you think! I shall be back soon with a new chapter!**

**Love to my readers,**

**CC22**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lucy stared open-mouthed at the closed door in front of her. Her father had just gone into his office but that wasn't too amazing. What was amazing was that he'd agreed to let Lucy "tutor" Wendy.

_"Daddy…?" Lucy said over breakfast that morning. Jude Heartfilia looked up from his plate of eggs and raised an eyebrow. "You only ever call me that if you have something you want but don't think I'm going to give you." He commented. Lucy could feel her cheeks turning slightly pink but stared sweetly back at the man she'd grown to hate. Jude sighed. "What is it Lucy?" he asked. She faked a huge grin and said, "Daddy yesterday I was out walking and I came across this girl. She was crying because she'd failed another math test and she was afraid of what her family would think. I told her if it was alright with you I could tutor her. I always did really well in math and she's just a little girl..." she said. Jude thought about it for a long time. So long in fact, he finished his breakfast and began walking to his office. Lucy followed him, not saying anything just making sure he knew she was following and waiting for his answer. He turned to her when they reached his office. "Does she come from any of the families we know?" he asked. Lucy shook her head. Jude sighed again. "Alright. You may tutor the girl. But once a week and she must be escorted everywhere when she's on the property." He warned. Lucy smiled, for real this time, and hugged him. "Thanks Daddy! She'll be so happy!" she said._

And now her father was busy doing some unknown things at his desk. Lucy sincerely expected him to say no. In fact she had listed several things she could do to convince him to say yes. She didn't think in a million years that it would be this easy. Suddenly she remembered she needed to meet some members of the guild in the marketplace and pass on her father's answer. She ran back up to her room to pick out an outfit. She always ate her breakfast while still wearing her sleepwear. She opened her closet doors and surveyed her options, one finger on her lower lip. Lucy finally settled on a black miniskirt, red belt, white tank top and black boots. She always felt better when she knew she looked good. Grabbing her keys from their place on her bedside table, she clipped them to her belt and ran down the stairs and out the door, waving goodbye to the housekeeper as she went.

The sun was shining and a gentle breeze was blowing as Lucy made her way out of the aristocratic district and into the marketplace. She stopped at a few stalls selling homemade jewelry and bought a blue beaded bracelet which she promptly put on. She liked the way the beads jingled when she shook her wrist. Spontaneously, she stopped at a fish stall and bought a fish for Happy. Last night, he'd gone on and on about fish so she was pretty sure her gift would be well received. "Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucyyyyyyyyy yyy!" She heard the call of the blue cat not too far behind her. Even though she had _told_ them not to act like they knew her, and even though she had expected to see Wendy or Levy or Mirajane, Lucy turned around grinning as she saw Happy flying straight for her. Then she heard Natsu say, "Lucy? I smell her but I can't see her!" Lucy face palmed. Only Natsu would say something like that out loud like it was normal.

Happy reached her first and she caught him as he flew straight into her chest. She gave him a hug then showed him the fish. "I just bought this for you. I didn't think I'd be able to give it to you in person though." She said. Happy's eyes grew to be the size of dinner plate. He burst into happy tears as he took the fish from her. "Lushi ish te gretished in te fworld!" he said around the fish. By that time, Natsu had reached them. He slung one arm around her shoulder and said, "Hey Luce!" She felt her cheeks turning pink and hoped he couldn't see it. "Hey Natsu. What are you doing here? I thought one of the girls was going to meet me here." She admitted. He released her so he could look at her. "Yeah they wanted to but… um… Happy wanted to see you so I volunteered to come instead." He thought back to that morning and recalled that when he had Mira had gotten this strange look on her face and readily agreed to it. Happy was too busy with the fish to tell Lucy that actually Natsu was the one that wanted to see her. Lucy smiled shyly and looked at the bracelet on her wrist so she wouldn't have to look at either one of them; she was afraid her eyes would betray.

The awkward silence that was threatening was broken by Natsu's stomach growling. Lucy looked up at him in time to catch the faint blush on his face and burst out laughing. "Natsu!" she giggled. "Did you forget to eat breakfast before you left?" she asked. He grinned sheepishly at her, glad that he'd made her laugh. "There wasn't any time." He said. She grabbed his hand and tugged him after her. "Come on. There's gotta be a stall somewhere that sells really good food." She said. Natsu was rather surprised when she grabbed his hand but he didn't resist and he tightened his grasp on her when the crowd got thicker. They walked for a few minutes with no luck but then Natsu caught a whiff of something spicy. He tugged on Lucy's hand and said, "This way! Come on! Something smells really good over here!" Lucy followed him, glad he had such a grip on her hand. The crowd was really thick and it only got thicker. That and his hand was really warm.

They reached a stall that sold spicy food. Lucy wasn't hungry at all and besides all that, she hated spicy food. When she thought about it, it made sense that Natsu would like anything hot, spicy food included. What she didn't expect was what he asked her after he had his food. "Do you have a lighter or any matches on you?" She blinked a few times before Happy explained, "Natsu can eat fire. But he can't eat his own fire so he usually has Mira set his food on fire." Lucy frowned and said, "Sorry Natsu. I don't have anything like that on me." He just shrugged and dug in. Lucy found she could NOT watch him eat. At least, not without feeling like puking. He was the worst eater she had ever seen. Food flew everywhere and even though most of it made it to his mouth, flecks of curry still landed on the counter.

Once the nasty display was over, Lucy turned back to Natsu and said, "So I did talk to my father this morning." Natsu seemed to have forgotten that he wasn't just spending the day with Lucy. "Oh right. That. So what did he say?" Lucy took a breath and said, "He said yes. I was surprised. Honestly, I thought he would say no. He's never let me have people over ever since Mom died. She died when I was 3 so I've basically only had my spirits for company. It's… been kinda lonely." She'd never admitted that to anyone. Somehow with Natsu she felt safe. She knew he wouldn't hurt her. He grabbed her hand again and squeezed it. "You've got me now Luce." He said. She smiled softly and let her head drop onto his shoulder. "Yeah." She said softly. "Thanks Natsu." Happy, who no longer had the fish, watched the two of them for a minute. Then it became too hard to resist. "They liiiiiiiiiiiike each other." He trilled. Lucy snapped her head up and glared at the cat. "Shut up stupid neko!" she said.

They parted ways soon after that, neither one having an excuse that would allow them to spend more time together. It was decided that Wendy would come tomorrow for her first "lesson" and Lucy would give her information to pass on to the guild. As Lucy walked back home, she had a small smile on her face that wouldn't go away. Her hand still felt warm from when Natsu grabbed it and she could still see the goofy smile he'd had when he first saw her in the market.

Natsu couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't understand why. He'd felt something similar about Lisanna a long time ago but this was slightly different. He didn't go any further than that. He wasn't the type of guy that explored his feelings. He was just glad he'd gotten to see her again and was already wondering when he would get that opportunity again. He was almost jealous of Wendy. She at least had one day every week when she got to see Lucy. And she got to go inside Lucy's house. He didn't realize that he was lagging but all of a sudden, Happy was right in front of his face. "Natsu! Helloooo?!" he said. Natsu snapped out of his thoughts. "What is it Happy?" he said. "You were thinking of Lucy weren't you?" Happy teased. Natsu flushed and said, "Was not!" Happy laughed and said, "You were! You had this expression on your face! You liiiiiiike her!" he said. He dodged as Natsu made a swipe for him then began streaking towards the guild, Natsu chasing after him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello All! It is now Sunday so as promised... here's the next chapter! Sadly, this is the last of the pre-made chapters. I am working on Chapter 8 as you read this but since school is a ton of work I must say that I don't know if I'll be able to post it until next Sunday. I have two tests this week and I must study hard for both of them. School always takes priority, I'm sorry. But please enjoy this chapter. I hope some of it makes you laugh and that you enjoy reading it because I did work hard on it. **

**As always, I don't own FairyTail but I do own my ideas and the computor this is written on!**

Chapter 7

Lucy got up early that morning and showered quickly. Wendy was coming over and she didn't want the girl intimidated by the guards out front. She knew it wouldn't be proper for her to come show Wendy in so when she had finished dressing, she grabbed a key off of her key ring. "Open! Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" she said. Virgo was there with the turn of the key. The pink haired maid bowed, "You called Princess?" Lucy rolled her eyes. "Virgo how many times must I tell you that you don't need to bow to me?" she said. Virgo straightened and looked at Lucy. "Do I deserve punishment Princess?" she asked, sounding a little too hopeful. "No!" Lucy cried. "Just forget it Virgo. I called you here because I have a favor to ask. Wendy is coming today and I don't want her frightened by the guards out front. I want you to bring her to me when she arrives." She said. Virgo bowed again and said, "I shall do as you request." She drilled a hole in the floor and disappeared, leaving a gaping Lucy. "DON'T GO THROUGH THE FLOOR!" she yelled.

Lucy straightened as much as she could and set up a small table up so that the appearance could be kept up. It wasn't long before she heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" she called, sitting on the bench at the foot of her bed. The door was opened revealing Virgo. Virgo stepped aside to reveal a smiling Wendy. "Your pupil is here Lucy-sama." Virgo announced formally. "Thank you Virgo." Lucy said. "Before you go…fix the hole you made in my floor." She said, glaring. "Shall I be punished for it Lucy-sama?" Virgo asked. Lucy pressed two fingers to her throbbing temple. "No… just fix it Virgo then you can go back to the spirit realm." She said. Virgo bowed again and got to work. She finished in a matter of seconds and dissolved into a golden mist.

Meanwhile, Wendy had stepped into the room and her eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates. "Lucy-nee your room is huge!" she gasped. Lucy looked over at the little girl and a small smile crossed her features. "At least I know the furniture and pictures here are paid with good money. My mother did all the decorating in here. I know my father didn't… well he didn't change until after she died." She said. Wendy smiled at Lucy and asked, "What was your mother like?" Lucy's face became wistful. "I don't remember too much about her. She died when I was very little. I do remember she had a beautiful smile that could lift you out of the darkest moods. And she had a nice kind laugh. She used to let me lay my head in her lap and when I did that she would stroke my hair. That's about all I remember." She said. Wendy came over and grabbed Lucy's hand. "My mother disappeared when I was little too. I remember she was kind and she loved me. I know one day I will find her again. Lucy-nee, you will see your mother again." She said, still smiling. Lucy's eyes widened a bit at the depth this little girl conveyed in just a few sentences. Leaning down, she wrapped Wendy in a hug. "Thanks Wendy." She whispered.

After that, the two were like sisters. Lucy gave Wendy some papers with coded information on them which Wendy put into her "textbook." This was really just a wooden box that Laki, a Wood Make mage, had crafted to conceal items put inside it. Once that was done, the girls spent hours talking about anything and doing each other's hair. Lucy showed Wendy some tips about make-up and gave her advice on boys. Wendy told stories that had Lucy laughing until she cried. Most of these stories involved members of the guild. They were laying on Lucy's bed after one such story when Lucy thought of something. "Do you want to see the garden?" she asked Wendy. Wendy sat up and nodded, excited. They both scrambled off of her bed and ran down the hall, laughing and joking as they went.

"Jude-sama it sounds like they are done studying." The butler said to his master. Jude Heartfilia sat at his desk and faced the massive window that looked out over the garden. He'd heard the girls run past his door laughing. He frowned and rested his chin on his folded hands. "Samuel, get me any information you can on the girl. Something is not right here. Lucy has been acting differently for the past few weeks. I want to know what is going on." He said. Though he couldn't see it, Samuel bowed and left the room. Jude watched the two girls running through the garden, stopping to admire some of the planted beds or wave to a gardener. This was as normal as Jude had seen Lucy acting for a while now. Maybe she was just starved for company. Well if that was what she wanted then maybe he should find a suitable friend for her. Someone her age. Someone who could carry on the family business. Someone…male.

Lucy waved as Wendy headed off. Levy had come to pick her up, posing as Wendy's older sister. Even though they'd had to act as though they'd never met before, Levy's eyes showed how happy she was to see Lucy again. When they'd shook hands, Levy slipped Lucy a letter which Lucy slid up her sleeve. As soon as they were out of sight, Lucy ran to her room to read the letter. She found it was actually a series of short notes from the guild members.

_Lu-chan,_

_ I hope you don't mind me calling you that! Everyone wanted to come see you and they are all jealous of Wendy so I thought we could give you a letter so they can say what they wanted to you. I wanted to say that I hope you're doing well and that I can't wait to see you again! Apparently I'm taking up all the paper so I'm going to hand it off to the others. Bye Lu-chan!_

_Lucy!_

_ I forgot to thank you for the food yesterday! Thanks! Happy wants to thank you for the fish as well. Natsu and Happy_

_Lucy,_

_ You had better be staying safe. I better never hear that you are risking yourself more than necessary. If I ever hear of that, you and I will have a talk. Erza_

Lucy got shivers after reading Erza's note. She could practically picture the scarlet-haired mage staring at her and even looked over to her window to check that she was indeed alone. After confirming her immediate safety, Lucy went back to the notes.

_Lucy_

_ Spying is MAN! Elfman_

_Lucy,_

_ I hope everything is going well with you. I can't help but picture you as a princess in a castle. Maybe one day, a prince will swoop in and save you! Do you have any potential princes in your life? Please stay safe and don't do anything rash. Mira_

_Lucy_

_ I can't believe Flame brain got to write earlier than me! I never thanked you for your help that one night so thanks. Stay safe and all that. Let Wendy know if you need anything and we'll help you. Ice Pick! I was totally gonna say that! Lucy! I can send Happy if you need anything! _[After this there was a black line as if the pen had been swiped across the paper on accident.] _Sorry about that. That baka Natsu was reading over my shoulder and stole the pen. I'm going to go kill him now so bye Lucy. Gray_

_Lucy,_

_ We didn't get to talk much at the picnic but I hope you are well. I hope you and Wendy are getting along fine and having fun. Please stay safe. Hopefully next time we meet we can talk some more. Lisanna_

_Lucy-nee,_

_ Hi! Everyone is doing fine! My father wants to meet you so one day you have to come visit the guild. I had a lot of fun at the picnic! I really don't know what else to say so I'll stop now. Romeo_

_Lucy,_

_ Is there any good wine in your house? Could you send me a bottle? The stuff we have here is terrible. Cana_

_Lucy,_

_ I know the others have said this but I want you to make sure you are staying safe. I'm proud of what you are doing and you are very brave for doing it. I'm sure your mother would be proud too. She was always one for doing what was right, no matter what. She was a wonderful woman, your mother. She was like a daughter to me. You look just like her, especially your eyes. Don't hesitate to call on the guild if you need anything. Like Natsu said at the picnic, we are your family and we will always be here for you. Makarov Dreyar_

Lucy's eyes filled when she read the last note from the master. She wished she could visit them so that he could tell her all about her mother. There hadn't been time during the picnic for him to tell her everything she'd wanted to know. Lucy wiped her eyes and sat up. Reaching under her bed, she pulled out a locked wooden box. She pulled the key out from a thin chain that hung around her neck and unlocked the box. Inside were many letters that she'd written to her mother. She added the letter from the guild to the box and closed it. She locked it and pushed it back under her bed. Lucy fell back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. "_I think I found a family Mom._"

**The idea for the little notes came to me while I was writing this actually. I think it is good to have a bit of comic relief after an intese moment. That's part of what makes FairyTail so awesome. Anyway, please tell me what you think of this chapter. I'd love to know which of the notes was your favorite. My favorite is Elfman's note. Everytime I read it I laugh so hard I cry. And I'm the one that wrote it... you might be able to imagine how hard it was to type that. I was laughing so hard I couldn't see the screen and spelled just about every word of that short little note wrong. So tell me, what was your favorite?**

**Love to all my readers,**

**CC22**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello minna! I'm not dead, I promise! Though for a second there I thought those tests would kill me... So since I'm finally done I thought I'd finish this chapter and post it. I hope it is good... I've been relatively brain-dead since all these tests started so... Don't hurt me or I shall set the mini-Natsu in my head on you!**

**...**

**I've officially lost it... please read and enjoy!**

Chapter 8

It had been two days since Wendy had come to visit. She was back at the guild now and still members were pressing her for information about Lucy, or her house or her life or even her father. They all wanted to know everything and it was a bit overwhelming. Luckily, she had protection from Natsu and Gray. "Oi! Let her get a breath!" Gray demanded of the pressing crowd. Ordinarily this would have been a job for Erza but she had left on a solo mission earlier that morning. The guild didn't just deal in missions involving the Gremlins. They took other jobs to keep up a steady income.

The crowd backed up thanks to a stream of fire from Natsu's mouth. Wendy sat on a stool by the bar with Natsu and Gray on either side of her. She took a deep breath again and began her story all over. She told of the wonderful day she'd had and of the house and servants. She hadn't met Jude Heartfilia yet so she couldn't say much about him. She had seen where Lucy's mother was buried from the trip to the garden. When she finished, it looked like the guild was finally satisfied. That was good because she didn't know how many times she could tell the story before she fell off the stool and died. Charle was sitting on the counter behind her. She had her paws crossed over her chest and she huffed indignantly, "Wendy you shouldn't let them take advantage of you like that!" Wendy turned to her cat companion and smiled, "They are just concerned for Lucy-nee. I'm the only one who gets to see her besides Levy-san so it makes sense that they would ask me about her. I don't mind telling them." Charle sighed, "Sometimes you are too nice Wendy."

Lucy was pacing her room. She was incredibly bored again. Yesterday, she had gone over her day with Wendy in her mind to pass the time but there was only so many times you could do that before it got old. And she was already looking forward to her next meeting with Wendy. One thing did bother her though… she had noticed while in the garden with Wendy, her father was staring down at them. She figured it was probably nothing but a tiny part of her brain kept pushing back into her thoughts. She couldn't help but wonder what he'd been thinking as he watched her. She couldn't imagine how it could be good for her.

Lucy decided that pacing in her room wasn't going to solve any of her problems. She decided to take a walk. As she left her mansion, keys in hand, she pondered where to go. Then suddenly, inspiration struck and she set off towards her destination.

Jude Heartfilia sat in the easy chair in his library. He was taking a well-deserved break from his work. Running both a highly efficient assassination gang and a multimillion dollar company could be exhausting! He had a book on his lap but he wasn't really reading it. He was actually deep in thought. One of the rival gangs had a leader about his age and this leader had a son. Jude had ordered that research be done on this son to see if he would be a suitable match for his daughter. It was high time she was married off. It could be very good for Jude. Establishing an alliance between his gang and another would only give him more control over Magnolia. The way he saw it, he couldn't lose.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Enter." He ordered. His butler, Samuel, entered and bowed (though Jude wasn't facing him so it's not like he could see it) and said, "Jude-sama. I have obtained the information you desired about the girl. It appears she has ties with that bunch of flies, Fairy Tail. She is a mage who apparently wields the powers of a Sky Dragon Slayer but she is young and not very good with her magic." Jude was going to ask where Samuel got his information but decided against it. Samuel was one of the cruelest men he knew. Crueler even than himself. Jude thought it would be best if Samuel's methods remained unknown to him as long as he kept getting the results he desired.

"I see. That could pose a problem. This might be part of an elaborate scheme to bring me down." He mused, one hand reaching up to cup his chin. Samuel nodded. "Shall I cancel the tutoring milord?" he asked. Jude thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No. If we cancel it, they will know we are onto them. However, now that we know who the girl is, we can begin our own plans to bring down Fairy Tail once and for all." He said, a small smile adorning his features before quickly being replaced by his normal, serious expression.

Lucy reached her destination in about ten minutes. She looked up at the Sakura trees. It was summer so they weren't blossoming yet but she could picture what they looked like when they did. Her mother used to take her here a lot when she was little. It was one of her favorite places, or so Lucy thought. To her, the grove was filled with her mother's spirit. It was almost as if this was the one place on earth that her mother wasn't dead. Lucy kept walking through the grove until she came to a clearing. She lay down in the grass and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds and thinking about her mother.

This peaceful picture would have stayed perfect if Lucy hadn't been scared out of her wits by a wandering exhibitionist. "I thought I was the only one who came here." His voice said, breaking the serene silence and making Lucy jump about thirty feet in the air. "What the hell?!" she screamed. "O-oi Lucy calm down! It's me!" Gray said, hands held out in defense as she beat him over and over. She paused for a second to verify that it was indeed Gray then smacked him one last time. "OW! Hey what was that last one for?!" Gray demanded. "You don't have anything but boxers on baka!" she cried, pointing at him. Gray looked down and gasped. "When the hell did this happen?!" he exclaimed. Lucy rolled her eyes but her heart rate was finally slowing down to normal.

She watched as Gray found at least his pants. He never did find his shirt but Lucy relaxed a bit more once his pants were back on. She was now sitting in the grass with her legs straight out in front of her. Gray sat down next to her once he was half-dressed and an awkward silence stretched between the two of them. Lucy broke it by saying, "So why do you come here Gray?" He considered his answer for a few moments then said, "I guess because I can do some thinking here. The guild is too loud for that." Lucy wondered briefly what he thought about but didn't want to make him uncomfortable so she didn't ask. Gray turned to her and said, "Well? What about you? Why do you come here?" Lucy looked up at one of the Sakura trees and said, "This was my mother's favorite place. Sometimes, it feels like she's still here, walking among the trees." She said. Gray frowned. "That's creepy." Lucy looked at him, astonished. She could immediately tell he was just messing with her. She turned away, laughing softly. "Sure… you thinking is hard to believe as well. Are you sure that's why you come here?" she joked.

They talked about anything for a while, getting to know each other in a way. Not too far into their conversation, Gray began to get the distinct feeling that they were being watched. Whatever was watching them was not friendly in any sense of the word. He began to heighten his senses while still making sure Lucy knew nothing of it. He also made sure to keep the conversation neutral. That way whoever was watching them wouldn't think they actually knew each other. They could just be two random strangers who met in the Sakura grove.

Finally Lucy stood, looking at the sky. "I've got to go or my father will worry." She said. Gray nodded, standing as well. He could feel the ominous presence leaving, no longer interested. For good effect, Gray said, "I'm glad I got to meet you Lucy." Lucy shot him a rather confused look but said, "Me too Gray." They parted ways, Lucy going back home and Gray going back to the guild as fast as he could without making it look like he was rushing.

Gray reached the guild and threw the doors open. "Where's the Master?" he asked Mirajane at the bar. Mira looked slightly startled at his outburst but didn't have to answer because just then the master jumped off of the balcony. "What is it Gray?" he asked. Gray had gotten the attention of some of the guild members who were still gathered around the bar but his next words gained the attention of the rest of the guild. "I met Lucy today." At the sound of her name, Natsu looked up from where he was stuffing his face and glared at the Ice mage. "What?! Where did you see her?!" he demanded. Gray frowned at him but continued his story. "We were just talking about stuff but while we were talking I felt like we were being watched. And whoever was watching us was not an innocent bystander. They were spying and they seemed potentially dangerous." He said. "And you let her go home alone?!" Natsu cried. "She could get hurt stupid Ice Maiden!" That was the last straw. In a matter of seconds the two boys were head to head, insults pouring from their mouths.

Makarov knew that this didn't bode well but he also knew Lucy was safe. Gray wouldn't have let her walk home alone if he felt she could be in any danger. She also had her keys which were passed down from Layla. She was well protected. What concerned him was that it appeared Jude was catching on a lot faster than he'd intended. In the next note to Lucy, he would have to warn her to tread carefully. And maybe it was time he put out his own watchers. Motioning to Warren, and a few others, Makarov headed back up to his office, dodging the flying tables and chairs that had started because of Natsu and Gray. These were the times he wished Erza didn't go on solo missions. She usually took one or both of the boys and the guild grew rather peaceful. But it couldn't be helped. Makarov closed the door to his office and gave Warren and the other hand picked members his new assignment. They nodded and immediately dispersed.

There was a knock on his door a few minutes after they'd left. "Come in!" he called. The door opened to reveal a small blunette. "Levy! What can I do for you?" he asked. She looked worried and Makarov hated to see any of "his brats" looking sad or distressed in any way. "Is Lu-chan going to be alright Master?" Levy asked. Makarov smiled gently at the petite girl. "She will be fine! She has Fairy Tail protecting her!" he said.

**OMG it's done! I actually finished the chapter! I honestly thought that would never happen because I've been so busy this week! I've had two tests and they are both in major courses so hopefully I did well! I hope you all like this one though I know the story seems to be moving slowly. I promise it will pick up soon! The next chapter should be up by next Sunday so stay tuned!**

**Love to my readers,**

**CC22**


	9. Chapter 9

**So sorry for the late post! My parents visited me on Sunday and I spent the whole day with them! I just didn't have any time later to post it. But it is done and I hope you all enjoy it! As always, leave a review when you're done. I like any and all comments about my work. Here is Chapter 9!**

Chapter 9

Lucy decided to stay in the next day. Her father was acting increasingly stranger. He kept staring at her as if evaluating a piece of rare art and he also seemed to spend more time in his office. She knew he was planning something but she had yet to figure out what that was. She was out in the garden that afternoon and she could feel her father's watchful eye on her even though he was in his study two floors above. She knew if she turned and looked over her shoulder she would see him. She had brought one of her favorite books with her and was reading while sitting on a bench enjoying the sunlight.

Lucy was actually particularly proud of herself. She had found out who her father's next victim was. She was glad she was finally proving useful to her new friends. She figured she should also tell the guild that she thought her father was planning something and figured she'd write it in a letter to give to Wendy.

The next week couldn't come fast enough for Lucy. She was almost nervous now with the way her father was acting. Later that week, strange men had come to the house to meet with her father. She tried to listen at the door but they spoke in voices too low for her to make out what they were saying. The only word she kept hearing was "son." That meant nothing to her. Lucy desperately hoped they weren't planning another murder of some rich boy who was the son of another politician. The night before, Lucy had sat down and drafted a letter to the guild which she had sealed and put in with the other papers to be given to Wendy.

Wendy came the next morning right on schedule. She was led by Virgo up to Lucy's room and found Lucy sitting by the table with some tea and cakes ready for the little girl. Virgo returned to the spirit world after fixing yet another hole she'd made when she went to receive Wendy. The girls talked for a bit then did a few cover up math problems. Wendy wanted to see the garden again so they hurried out of Lucy's room. Before they did, Lucy grabbed the handful of papers and put them in Wendy's book. She ran after Wendy, a big smile on her face. If she'd stayed just a few seconds longer, she would have realized that she left out one last little page. It had some minor information that wasn't totally necessary to the guild but it would be bad if anyone saw it. The author of this tale prayed really hard that this little scrap of paper wouldn't be discovered but alas, God was not listening at the time and it was discovered. By the worst possible man.

Samuel ran down the stairs, incriminating paper in hand. He was overjoyed. Jude-sama would be so happy to hear that the inside informant had been caught. What surprised Samuel was that it was Jude-sama's daughter Lucy-dono who was the mole. But this too, was good news. Samuel knew that once Jude-sama retired he would have to pass leadership of the gang down. Samuel was the best for the job but like the company, Jude-sama wanted to leave the gang in the family. With Lucy being the mole, there was no way Samuel wouldn't get leadership of the gang! He paused before Jude-sama's office and composed himself. It wouldn't do to be excited over this piece of news.

Samuel knocked twice, sharply. "Enter." The voice of his master commanded. Samuel came in and bowed, though Jude-sama's back was to him so he couldn't see Samuel bow. "Jude-sama, I have discovered who the mole in our operations is." He said. Jude's chair swung around slowly until he was facing Samuel. His eyes betrayed no emotion but as he rested his chin on his hands, he indicated that Samuel continue. "The mole is Lucy-dono. I have discovered this paper on her writing table and the handwriting is hers. She must be passing information to the little girl who visits every week. The girl does have ties to Fairy Tail, this must be how they know our next move." He said. Jude-sama still did not betray any emotion, a fact which greatly impressed Samuel. He took a moment to consider what the butler had just told him then said, "We cannot afford to jump to any conclusions. We shall test her. Sometime this week, drop some false information about an attack on the Porla family. If Fairy Tail responds, we will know it is her." He said. Samuel bowed again but Jude-sama had already turned back around so he didn't see it.

Samuel had just reached the door when he paused. "What is it Samuel?" Jude-sama asked. Samuel turned back and said, "If it is her, what will you do?" Jude-sama turned back around, a glare now on his face. "I will let you deal with her." He said.

Wendy returned to the guild with Levy that evening with a troubled expression on her face. Levy noticed and asked, "What's up Wendy? Is Lucy ok?" Wendy's frown deepened and she looked back up at Levy. "I don't know. She seemed a little on edge today." She said slowly. Levy nodded, considering this before replying, "Well we don't know. She could just be PMSing." Wendy blushed and nodded. She hoped that was what it was. Lucy had been rather jumpy the whole visit. When they were in the garden, she kept glancing up at one of the windows of the mansion. Wendy didn't say anything because she knew Lucy was trying not to let her know that something was bothering her.

The two returned to the guild very soon and were pounced on by the guild members. Levy blocked Wendy so she wouldn't get crushed by the mass of bodies and yelled, "EVERYBODY BACK OFF!" The whole guild froze. Levy was a tiny girl, not frightening in the least. However, the look she had on her face and the sheer volume she'd just reached sent pangs of fear into their hearts. The first to move were Natsu, Gray and Erza. They parted the crowd and Erza, who was back from her mission, said, "Welcome back Wendy, Levy. Pardon me for not controlling this rabble. Feel free to hit me." Wendy winced and said, "I-I don't think that's necessary."

Natsu leaned closer to the pair and said, "So… how was it? Was Lucy ok?" Gray shoved Natsu aside and said, "Oi flame brain let the girl rest first! Come on Wendy, Mirajane is waiting for you at the bar." He said. Wendy was very flustered by all this attention. Luckily, Carla came to her rescue. She swooped down and picked her up by the top of her dress and flew her to the bar where Happy sat next to a plate of food. "Wendy's back!" he announced, much to the face-palming of the others. "Hello Happy." Wendy said. She ate her food and was half way through the plate when she felt the stares of all her guild mates. She remembered Lucy's letter and dug it out of her book. "She wrote us a letter." She said, giving it to Levy who had pushed her way through the crowd to sit near Cana at the bar.

The guild's attention shifted to Levy who opened the letter and began to read it… to herself. She finished quickly and nodded. "That was a good letter. Lu-chan writes well." The guild stared hard at her. She looked up at them and seemed to notice their stares for the first time. "What?" she asked, confused as to why they were staring at her. "READ IT OUT LOUD!" the guild screamed. Levy sweat dropped and laughed. "Ok! OK! Sheesh…"

_FairyTail,_

_ I wanted to thank you all for your notes last time. It's been a strange week. My father keeps staring at me like a piece of fine art which seems suspicious but I might just be paranoid. His butler also keeps shooting me weird looks when he thinks I'm not looking. But I think I'm fine for now. I thought I might as well reply to all of your notes since I'm not there to say it myself._

_Levy-chan of course you can call me Lu-chan. I'm doing fine right now though my father is creeping me out. Natsu (and Happy) you are welcome for the food. It was no problem. Thank you for a great day. Erza… I am staying as safe as I can… please don't hurt me. Elfman… thanks… I think. Though I am not a man, I am a girl. Mira thank you but I sure don't feel like a princess. And no, it's hard to have princes when you are locked in your "castle" all day without being allowed to talk to anyone your own age unless your father approves of it. Um, I'm sorry Natsu wrote earlier than you Gray but really it doesn't matter who writes first to me. Just the fact that you wrote is nice so thanks! Oh and no problem for that one night. I really wanted to do something to help but you and Natsu did most of the work. Natsu, it's rude to interrupt people when they are writing letters to others. And also, why did you have to write what you said to Gray? I do hope you didn't die though Natsu. You two need to cut out the fighting. Erza, take care of that for me please? Lisanna I would love to talk to you some more! Everyone at the guild seems so nice and I really want to get to know all of you! I hope we can meet again. Romeo I'm sure your father is a nice man. Maybe one day I'll get to meet him. And I had fun at the picnic too. Cana… were you drunk when you wrote that? I know there is good wine here but I'm not sure how I could get you some. If I think of something you'll be the first to know. Master I really hope what you said about my mother is true. I really want her to be proud of me. It means a lot that you think she is. _

_I'm really grateful for my new family. I hope all of you are doing alright and I hope the information I'm giving you is helpful. Please keep everybody safe!_

_Lucy_

Levy finished and set the letter in her lap. The guild was satisfied with that and split into their normal little groups to talk over what Lucy had said about each of them. Natsu and Gray started to fight over which one got a better comment and the guild went back to normal. The Master, however, was troubled by the first few lines of her letter. Warren had told him the Gremlins seemed to be acting normally but he was convinced something was going on. And he didn't like it. He didn't want Lucy getting hurt. He stood on the railing and called down into the guild, "Happy! Carle! I have a job for you!" The two exceeds were surprised but they flew up to the Master. Natsu stopped fighting Gray when he heard that. The master looked at the two exceeds. "I want you to keep a special watch on Lucy. I know you all can be with her without her guards or servants knowing about it. It will be fine if she knows you are there, just not her guards." He said. Happy perked up considerably after hearing this. He really liked Lucy, and not just because she'd given him fish. She made Natsu happy but in a different way than others made him happy. Carle just nodded. "You can take shifts." The master added before disappearing into his office once again.

Natsu was jealous of Happy. "Why do you get to watch her and not one of us?" he asked. Happy couldn't resist teasing Natsu about his new position. "It's because Carle and I are stronger than you! If things got bad, we could help out better than you could!" he said. "That is so not true!" Natsu burst out. They were walking back to Natsu's house after a day at the guild. They reached an intersection and Happy stopped. "I'm off to Lucy's house! Carle wants me to take the nights because she wants to sleep!" he said. He flew off before Natsu could say anything. Natsu frowned after the neko. One way or another, he was getting into that house…

**YES! Natsu shall invade Lucy's privacy once more! I love how he constantly comes into her apartment in the manga/anime so I wanted to include it here too. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As an appology for being late on this one, the next one will be up Wednesday. Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Love to my readers,**

**CC22**


	10. Chapter 10

**As promised! I'm back with the latest installment of Gang Busting! I have recieved lots of reviews on the past chapter in so little time. Thank you all so much for reviewing! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the story so far! SO! I hope this chapter answers a few questions and is as interesting as the last one. Things will be picking up in pace so be ready because the fit is about to hit the shan if you know what I mean... Oh and you may have noticed that I've stopped with the typical disclaimer. I think by now my loyal readers know that I don't own FairyTail and I would hope that the other readers know that too. So I'm not really going to include it as much but it is still true!**

**And now, on to Chapter 10!**

Chapter 10

Lucy was lying in her bed that night trying to fall asleep. Every since Wendy left that day, her father's butler kept giving her strange looks. And her father was still watching her every move. She figured she was just being paranoid but she didn't want anything to happen. She was startled by the tapping on her window. She sat up and looked over at the window. What she saw there almost made her fall out of her bed. She ran to the window and opened it up quickly. "What are you doing here Happy!" she exclaimed. Happy flew into her chest which she'd figured out was his way of hugging her. She wrapped her arms around the blue cat and gave him a little squeeze. Happy perched on her shoulder as she went back to her bed after closing the window. He jumped off and landed in her soft comforter. "Master wants us to watch out for you. That way, if something bad really is happening we can warn you and get help from the guild. He also has people watching the Gremlins." Happy said, smiling.

Lucy felt relief wash through her. She smiled softly down at the little cat. "Thank you Happy." She said. "To tell the truth, I was a little lonely." She admitted. Happy grinned up at her and said, "Well I'm here now! Hey! Do you have any fish here today?" Lucy giggled and shook her head. "I'm sorry Happy. I didn't know you were coming. I'll have one next time. How long are you here?" she asked. Happy explained his mission to her and Lucy was relieved to know that Charle would be coming later to relieve him. She wouldn't have minded having Happy around all the time but she knew Natsu would miss him and she also didn't want to be taking advantage of the guild that had been so kind to her. And it would be easier to convince her father that Charle was a stray than Happy. There aren't many blue cats around Magnolia but there were countless white ones.

The next morning, Lucy woke up to find Happy lying on the pillow by her head. He was sleeping soundly when she heard another tap on her window. She went and opened it, leaving it unlocked this time. Charle flew in and said, "Good morning Lucy. I hope Happy didn't bother you last night." Lucy smiled at the white cat. "No I was glad that he came. I'm really glad you're here too." She said. Carle blushed a tiny bit but shook it off. Happy woke up soon after that and said goodbye to Lucy. As he was leaving, Lucy said, "Say hi to Natsu for me ok Happy? And thanks again for coming!"

The cats kept coming in shifts every day. Lucy was grateful for their presence because they made her less lonely. Although Charle had to disguise the fact that she could fly, she didn't mind being carried by Lucy. Lucy held her gently and made sure she was comfortable. Charle had taken a liking to Lucy which greatly pleased Wendy. Happy carried messages between Natsu and Lucy until one night, he didn't have to. It had been about three weeks since the Exceeds started coming. Things had calmed down at Lucy's house and she kept the flow of information coming. Lucy had just said goodbye to Charle and watched her carefully make her way out of the side garden into the little bit of woods next to the mansion. She was getting her bed ready to be slept in and she'd set a plate of fish out for Happy. She turned as she heard the window opening but what she saw made her jaw drop to the floor.

"Hi Luce!" Natsu said, a big goofy grin on his face. Lucy got over her surprise quickly and rushed over to him. She flung her arms around him and hugged him. That surprised Natsu a bit but he instinctively hugged her back. She stepped back after a few moments, her cheeks tinged pink. "Sorry." She said. "I just… miss everybody. I hear a lot from Wendy, Charle and Happy but…" she trailed off, unable to think of a valid excuse. Natsu grinned again and shrugged. "I get it!" he said. Happy flew in a few seconds later. "Lucy! Natsu wanted to come and see you because I told him you got lonely sometimes." He said. Now Natsu's cheeks were tinged pink. "Eheh…" he said. Lucy turned to Happy, a smile on her face. "Thanks Happy! You've been a real friend. There's a whole plate of fish for you over there." She said, pointing to the table. Happy's eyes widened and he was at that table faster than you can blink. "So you're the one that's spoiling him!" Natsu said. Lucy turned back to him, blushing a bit. "He and Charle have done so much for me… I have to thank him somehow." She said. Natsu just laughed.

They went over to her bed and sat down at the edge of it. Natsu looked around her room. "Your room is the size of my house Lucy!" he exclaimed. Lucy giggled. "Yeah, my mom did all the decorating in here. She wanted me to have a big room so she could have a lot to decorate." She said. That seemed to break the ice and they talked for hours. It was very dark outside when their talk slowed to casual comments now and then. They had also changed positions. Lucy was now in her bed with Natsu lying next to her. This was because she'd gotten cold as the night fell over the house. With Natsu's elevated temperature, she had become nice and warm in no time. Then she didn't have the heart to kick him out of her bed… and she didn't want to lose the heat. She had her head against his shoulder and her eyes were closed. She didn't realize it when she fell asleep.

Natsu could tell that Lucy had fallen asleep. Her breathing evened out and she relaxed against him. Natsu couldn't help but notice the way she seemed to fit against him. Now that he was in her room, her scent was almost overpowering. Everything in the room smelled of her, and faintly of Happy and Charle. Now that she was asleep, Natsu knew he should leave. He started to move to get up but just then she snuggled against his arm, sighing in her sleep. He looked down at her and caught his breath. She was adorable when she was sleeping. Her hair was splayed all over her pillow and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed. Her face had a serene expression on it and she looked totally relaxed. He found he didn't want to leave. Her bed was comfortable anyway and he was tired. He slid down to be more comfortable and closed his eyes. He was asleep in a matter of seconds.

Happy watched this whole scene with a small smile on his feline features. He knew how Natsu felt about the pretty blond beside him even if Natsu himself didn't know it. Lucy made him happier than he'd been in a while. Happy watched as Natsu fell asleep beside her and the picture they made was so adorable it would have melted ice. Happy watched them for a few minutes before growing sleepy himself. He flew over to the bed and curled up on the pillow above Lucy's head. Just before he closed his eyes, he saw Natsu wrap one arm around Lucy's waist and pull her close. "He liiiiiiikes her…" Happy mumbled before closing his eyes and following his friends to dreamland.

After that, Natsu became a regular in Lucy's room at night. He couldn't come every single night but he came most nights. Sometimes he was injured from a mission and Lucy would patch him up a bit. Natsu didn't seem to know how to bandage himself. Lucy herself actually didn't mind having Natsu in her bed. He was always gone with Happy in the morning and he kept her warm all night. Now that her window remained unlocked, she could feel a bit of a draft of the cold night air and having her own personal heater was a nice touch. She missed Natsu when he wasn't there.

Natsu also loved sleeping in her bed. It was probably because of her scent. Her scent had a calming effect on him. After a long, hard, potentially dangerous mission, nothing gave him better sleep than being in Lucy's bed and holding her close. He vaguely realized his feelings towards Lucy were changing, deepening, but he didn't care. He found he didn't want to stop the feelings he got whenever he was around her. He liked having someone who cared about him, more than just the usually guild stuff. Then one day he saw a request on the board at the guild. He took it without thinking about it, it sounded like lots of fun. He showed it to Happy before they set out to see Lucy. Happy was excited about it, even though he couldn't come. They talked about it on their walk; then, as they were just about to reach the woods near Lucy's mansion, Happy stopped. "Ne, Natsu? Are you sure you can leave Lucy for a whole week? I mean, Charle says she isn't as lonely when you come and she's even seen Gray and Levy in the Sakura grove but… This mission should take a whole week at least." He said. Natsu frowned. "I didn't think about that. But I can't just back down! I bet I can finish this thing in a few days. Plus, Lucy should be fine for a couple days right?" he said. Happy grinned and nodded, "Aye sir!"

The thought still bothered him though. As he jumped through Lucy's window with Happy, he wondered how he should tell her. The first thing he noticed was that she had been crying. Even Happy could see that and he didn't usually notice anything but the plate with fish on it. He ignored the plate and flew to Lucy who was lying curled up on the bed. "Lucy? Are you sick?" he asked her. She sniffled and Natsu felt a small anger building at whatever it was that had upset Lucy. He went to the bed and pulled the cover away from her face. "Lucy what happened?" he asked. She turned away from him and buried her face in the pillow. "My life is over." She mumbled into the pillow. It was very quiet but Natsu picked up on it. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder tugging on it gently. Lucy rolled back over and sat up slowly. "C'mon Lucy just tell me what happened? Your dad didn't find out about anything did he?" he asked, suddenly afraid. Lucy shook her head. "No he didn't. At least I'm pretty sure he didn't." she said. "Well then what is it?" Natsu asked, a bit impatient.

Lucy paused for a moment before hanging her head and saying, "I'm getting married."

**She's what!? You heard right folks, she said she's getting married. So what will Natsu's reaction be? How will he deal with this new situation and what else could Lucy be hiding? All these questions will be answered in the next chapter which shall be out by Sunday!**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Love to all my readers,**

**CC22**


	11. Chapter 11

**As promised here is the next chapter! Here we see Natsu's reaction and the story takes a giant leap forward. Please leave a review when you finish reading and I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 11

Natsu's heart dropped like a stone. Lucy looked up and saw the hurt and disappointment in his eyes and while she would be happy about that later when she looked back on this memory, she was afraid now. She didn't want him to hate her. You see, over the time they'd spent together, she'd realized she was falling for the rose haired Dragon Slayer. She put her small hand over his big one, gripping it hard. "I don't want to Natsu! My father arranged the whole thing and he's making me go along with it! And the man I'm supposed to marry is… well he's just as bad as my dad. He is the son of the gang lord that rivals my father. I met him today and… he is mean and he doesn't try to hide it behind a façade of gentlemanliness." Natsu listened and her words calmed him a bit. Then he heard her describe the man to him and he grabbed her upper arm, about to ask her if she was being serious. He couldn't let her marry anyone, but especially not another gang lord.

Lucy winced when he grabbed her. He noticed and dropped his hand lower, shoving her sleeve up. The fabric had hidden the finger-print bruises on her arm. Lucy had kind of hoped he wouldn't discover those, afraid of what he would do. He looked at them, a quiet rage building in his eyes. He glanced once at her face to confirm what he'd already guessed. They sat frozen for a minute, the only noise was Happy sniffling at the situation. Then Natsu crushed her to his chest in a hug. Lucy was surprised, that was not the reaction she'd been expecting. He buried his face in her hair and said, "I will not let you marry that man. And he won't ever lay a finger on you again after what he's done." Lucy felt fresh tears coming and let them fall. Her hands fisted in his vest as she buried her head into his chest. "I don't wanna marry him Natsu. I wanna stay with you! And the rest of the guild!" she sobbed.

Natsu felt his heart lift when she said she wanted to stay with him. He gripped the girl in his arms, never wanting to let her go. "Then stay with me. You can come to the guild with me Lucy. I know the Master will understand. You've done enough for us by being a spy. Nobody will be upset if you stop now and come to the guild." He whispered to her. She stopped crying and pulled back, searching his features for signs that he was lying. She couldn't find any. Her arms moved to wrap around his neck and she said, "I think it's time I do that Natsu." This time Natsu pulled away and looked down at the blond who was still beautiful even when she had a tear-streaked face. "Do you need time to get everything in order?" he asked. Lucy thought about it and nodded. "I should make sure I have everything and then I can leave with Wendy when she goes back." She said.

Natsu took a breath, he did still have to tell her what he came to tell her. "I have a mission that might take up most of this week but if I'm not back when you get to the guild tell them to hold the party 'til I am ok? I promise I'll be back to welcome you with the rest of them." Lucy nodded. Things were looking up now that there was a way out of her situation. The rest of the night went like it usually did. Natsu fell asleep with an exhausted Lucy in his arms.

Lucy waved goodbye to Natsu and Happy as the made their way out of her window and snuck into the forest. She'd given Natsu some information to bring back to the guild about an attack on the Porla family. She had just heard about it the day before and didn't want to wait for Wendy to come and write it out. She figured that since Natsu would stop at the guild before going on his mission, he could just tell them about it. Charle flew in a few moments later and her next day started.

Two days later, Wendy came to visit. All went well. She learned from Wendy that Natsu had left on his mission and taken Erza and Gray with him. It sounded, from the way Wendy told it, that Natsu had more been forced to take Erza and Gray. Lucy didn't blame him. She was also afraid of Erza and knew that if Erza had suggested it, it would be smarter to just go with what she'd suggested. Wendy was just leaving. She turned to wave to Lucy one last time when she noticed the butler of the house approach her and touch her elbow quietly. Lucy lowered her arm and turned to him. That was the last thing Wendy saw before turning around and skipping back to the guild with Levy. It seemed inconsequential to her at the time but it was the start of something terrible.

Lucy turned as Samuel gained her attention. "What is it Samuel?" she asked. Samuel bowed but Lucy had turned to see if she could wave again at Wendy and so she didn't see him bow. "Your father would like to see you. He would like to discuss something with you." He said. Lucy sighed, "Probably about the marriage." Samuel didn't reply, just turned away and began to lead the way inside the house. Lucy followed slowly and they went into her father's office. The door closed behind her but Samuel remained inside. This was strange but it didn't cross Lucy's mind because she was too concerned about the marriage. "Lucy." Her father said to snap his daughter out of her thoughts. He was incensed. She was the mole and he hadn't wanted to believe it. But they had gotten word that FairyTail knew about the fake attack on the Porla family. There was undeniable proof that the mole was Lucy and she was using the girl Wendy to get her information to FairyTail. "Lucy there is something you should know." He started, his voice betraying nothing.

"Our family is invested in more than just the business. I have wanted to leave you as well off as you can be and I have done everything in my power to make sure that you want for nothing. And so I have invested in everything the makes any kind of money. One of those things was… well running the streets." He continued. Lucy's face also didn't betray anything other than innocent attention. "I will pass down the entire business to you and your husband after you are married. So you can imagine it greatly surprised me when I learned you were betraying the family." Now Lucy's face drained of all color. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." She said quietly, though she knew it was of no use. "Oh you do. And I fell right for it for a while there. And then Samuel told me of his suspicions. I still did not want to believe that family of mine would try to undermine my efforts. Especially since I am doing everything for you."

Lucy had heard enough. "For me? You think I would ever thank you for killing people? Ruining their lives just because you want more money! I will never be in charge of anything like that! I gave that information to FairyTail because I knew they could stop you. Why would you ever do anything like this? Mother would never have approved!" she exclaimed. "That is enough!" Jude Heartfilia roared, making his daughter flinch. "I have given you everything you ever wanted and this is how you thank me?" Lucy felt huge tears rolling down her face. "All I ever wanted was to be loved Father! Mama did that! She loved me but you ignored the fact that I was ever alive. Sure, I got lots of clothes and I could have what I wanted but you won't even let me have friends my own age! I wanted you to be proud of me Father! Couldn't you at least have done that?" she yelled.

The next thing she knew she was flying across the room and her head was spinning. Her father had just slapped her harder than she'd ever been hit in her life. He glared at her, his full rage now evident on his face. "You disgust me." He said. He motioned to Samuel. Samuel grabbed her roughly by the arm and hauled her to her feet. Jude Heartfilia turned away from his daughter and said, "I will let Samuel deal with you." Lucy could feel his iron grip tighten on her arm but her other hand flashed to her keys. Samuel was fast but not fast enough. Lucy had managed to grab one random key off of her ring before the rest were snatched away and tossed across the room. Samuel knew she had one key and tried to wrench it from her grasp. When that didn't work, he dragged her out of the room by her hair and began to beat her. He knew if she was too weak she couldn't summon one of her spirits. Lucy screamed as she felt her nose break. She knew she had to summon the spirit. And so, in one valiant effort, she wrenched away from Samuel and screamed, "OPEN GATE OF THE LION! LEO!"

Loke sprang through the gate. "Don't worry princess! I'll take care of him!" he said. "No!" she yelled, one hand over her nose in agony. "Get my keys from my father and get help. Please Loke! You're my only hope now!" she said. She could see Samuel getting closer and knew she was running out of time. Luckily, Loke followed her orders, though he did manage to slow Samuel down a bit by punching him in the gut. Samuel was a hard man so the punch only slowed his pace, it did nothing to his resolve. Lucy had one final second. And she used it as wisely as she could. "CHARLE!" The white cat, who had been waiting for Lucy in her room, heard the call and the panicked sound of her voice and knew something terrible had happened. She bolted out of the room and used her own max speed to rush towards FairyTail.

By then it was too late for Lucy. Samuel caught up with her and she could run no more. He dragged her, kicking and screaming, down many flights of stairs until he reached a dungeon. He brought her to his favorite room and chained her so that she was hanging down from the wall. He surveyed her chained body and a grim smile cast a creepy light upon his features. "I'm going to enjoy playing with you Lucy Heartfilia."

**Oh my! Now what will happen to poor Lucy? And with some of the guild's strongest members gone? And what is Samuel planning for Lucy? Do you honestly think it will be fun? I can't wait to find out what happens...! Oh, wait... I have to write what happens... I promise the next chapter will be good! I'm already working on it so it might be out earlier than the deadline. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I shall see you all later!**

**Love to all my readers,**

**CC22**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm back readers! So you guys are really enjoying this! I'm getting lots of reviews urging me to continue and update fast! Keep 'em coming people! They do motivate me to write more for each chapter. Please let me know if you have ideas! I love hearing all your thoughts, even if it is something you don't like about it. **

**So this chapter goes back to the memory mentioned previously. Remember how I said you guys should keep that one logged away in your brains? Well, here it is, back to haunt you! We learn more about Laxus in this chapter and we learn a few things about Natsu too! There's hints of Nalu in this chapter but not as much as previous. Don't worry, I'm planning a huge Nalu fest in the next chapter. So stay tuned!**

**Please enjoy this next chapter! And leave a review when you finish!**

Chapter 12

Loke caught up to Charle about half way to the guild hall. Charle picked him up and increased her speed. "As fast as you can please Charle. I can feel her weakening. If she gets too weak she can't keep my door open and you won't know where to find her." He said. Carle nodded and strained to go faster. They reached the guild and slammed the doors open, almost knocking them off of their hinges. This gained the attention of the entire guild. Carle collapsed and Happy rushed to help her. "Where's the Master of this guild?!" Loke cried. Mirajane came forward. "He is away for the afternoon what can we do for you?" she asked. A blond, spikey haired teen turned his head and began to pay attention. Something about that boy was familiar to him. "I'm Loke, or Leo the Lion. I'm one of Lucy's spirits. She's in trouble. Her father found out about what she was doing and he handed her over to the butler who is actually a master assassin and torturer. We have to get her out of there. I would have tried to fight him but she ordered me to get help from you all. Please, we have to hurry. She is getting weaker!" he said desperately.

Mirajane's eyes widened. Levy began to cry. "We have to get her out of there! This was the worst time for Natsu, Gray and Erza to go on a mission!" Levy said. Mirajane frowned. How were they ever going to get her out of there? If the butler was a master assassin, what were the rest of the servants? And Lucy's father had to know that FairyTail wouldn't let him get away with hurting her without a fight. He would be prepared for them to come. "Who is this girl everyone's making a fuss over?" a voice drawled, sounding bored. Mirajane turned to him, not expecting him to help. "Her name is Lucy Heartfilia. She's the daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia and she's going to die if we don't save her." She said, not expecting this to move the blond haired boy. Laxus Dreyar was not easily moved to action unless the action helped him. At the name 'Heartfilia', Laxus was plunged into a memory.

_'I want you on your best behavior Laxus. The Heartfilias are coming again and I want you to entertain little Lucy.' Makarov said to the seven year old boy. Laxus rolled his eyes but the little girl named Lucy intrigued him. She was different from other kids her age. She seemed older and smarter than them. The Heartfilias arrived soon after that and Lucy smiled again to see him. 'Hello Laxus-san!' she said. He grunted something in reply and led her away to play._

_It had been a few months and Laxus had seen Lucy a few more times when Layla Heartfilia came to visit with her. Something about Lucy made him feel comfortable. He wasn't as gruff around her anymore and he'd told her things he didn't tell other people. He told her how his father was not a good man. How he wanted to take out his grandfather. Lucy had told him her father didn't love her. And so they were bonded by shared pain. Laxus didn't mind her following him around. He told her about FairyTail and promised that he would let her join when he became Master. Just then the door opened and the subject of his thoughts skipped in. 'Onii-san!' she cried, smiling up at him. He held out his hand and she took it and together they went out into the back yard to play._

_One month later Laxus was summoned into Makarov's office. There he learned that Lucy's mother had died and he wouldn't be allowed to see her anymore. And that was when Laxus stopped opening up to anyone._

Mirajane had turned away again. "Happy!" she called. "Go as fast as you can and get Natsu and his team from their mission. I've heard news that they defeated the thieves yesterday so they should be on their way back. We're going to need all the backup we can get. Everyone else, get ready. We are going to go get Lucy and bring her here. One of you should stay here and tell Master Makarov when he gets back." She said. Mirajane rarely gave orders but when she did people listened. Happy nodded and said, "Aye sir!" He was gone in the blink of an eye. He cared very much for Lucy and knew that Natsu wouldn't stop until she was safe again.

Mirajane was just finishing the preparations when she heard a chair scraping back. Laxus stood and the entire guild turned to face him. "I'm going ahead. You all get there when you can." He said to Mirajane. She was left with her jaw hanging open as he sped out of the guild, using his lightning magic to make him faster. Elfman tapped her on the shoulder to snap her out of it and they all rushed out after him.

Laxus arrived at the gates and exploded them open. He was met by many underlings but his lightning repelled them easily as well. He grabbed one of the underlings by the throat and began to slowly strangle him. "Where are they holding the girl?!" he demanded. The underling struggled to answer but Laxus didn't give him a chance to. Angrily, he slammed his fist in the man's gut, knocking him out. The house was huge and once he made it inside, there were even more gang underlings. The sheer number of them could be overwhelming but just when they were really starting to annoy him, the rest of FairyTail arrived. Loke found Laxus but as soon as he reached the lightning mage he felt himself returning to the spirit world. This didn't bode well for Lucy. "Laxus!" he cried, finally recognizing the teen from Lucy's past. "She's below us! I can't tell where because she's weakening but she's below us! Help her!" he cried. Just before he disappeared completely, Loke threw a sparkling object at Laxus. Laxus caught it and looked down, they were Lucy's keys. Laxus nodded and began looking for stairs leading down to lower floors.

Lucy was flitting in and out of consciousness. She was bleeding from knife cuts on her shoulders, abdomen and face. Her body was battered and bruised and she knew a few of her ribs were broken. Her left femur was broken and so was her right arm. She was not breathing evenly anymore and she was ready to give up. Only one thing kept her from that. She kept picturing Natsu's face when he promised to get her out of there. She couldn't give up, he would be mad if she did. In her dazed state of mind, she thought she heard Samuel say something about a guild interfering but she couldn't be sure. _'Natsu… please hurry.'_

Happy was surprised when it didn't take him too long to find Natsu and the others two with him. Apparently, Erza had really wanted to get back to the guild (something about cake) and had not let the mages sleep. He sped right into Natsu's head and had to rest a minute to recover from running into that brick wall of a skull. No wonder Natsu was so dense! Erza was concerned. She'd never seen the panicked look on Happy's face before and he was using max speed, something he rarely did. When Happy's world was no longer spinning, she grabbed him and asked, "What happened?" The aura around her was rather dangerous but what Happy had to say was an emergency so he disregarded her for a moment. Turning to Natsu he said, "You have to hurry! Lucy's father figured out what she was doing and now she's in lots of trouble!" Natsu's eyes widened. "Dammit! Happy come on! I have to save her!" he yelled. Happy managed to squeeze his way out of an astonished Erza's grip and grabbed Natsu. He used max speed and they were gone very fast.

Gray had come to think of Lucy almost like a sister. So when he heard the words that left Happy's feline mouth, he began to run. Erza was right next to him, a grim look on her face. "We have to hurry." She said. "There's no telling what he will do to Lucy." Gray just nodded and increased his speed.

Laxus had given up on using the stairs. He just used his lightning to bust through the floors. He dropped down and paused for a moment. That moment was just long enough to hear a moan. Lucy was too exhausted to scream, the most she could do was moan and soon she wouldn't even be able to do that. Laxus used his lightning to move at light speed towards the sound. What he found astonished him. Even though she was a bloody mess, with flesh gaping open all over her body and blood running down and forming a small puddle under her hanging body, Laxus could still recognize the little girl he had known. His mind flashed back thirteen years to a memory of her on a swing smiling as he pushed her. His fists clenched as he saw a man pacing in front of her with a knife. "You're beginning to bore me. Maybe I'll stop for today. That guild will never make it here and once they are gone once and for all there will be nothing stopping Jude-sama from controlling this city." The man said, twirling the knife in his hands. "Huh!" Laxus scoffed. "FairyTail is much stronger than you can possibly imagine. If you're so bored, why don't you fight me?" he said.

Samuel turned around surprised. He didn't get a chance to react though because Laxus punched him square in the face, sending him flying into the wall. The wall crumbled around him and Laxus didn't notice any movement. _'That was way too easy'_ he thought. It didn't matter though; right now he had to get Lucy out of there. He pulled the chains out of the wall and carefully lifted her up. He was being much gentler than he ever had been with anyone else. She was going in and out of consciousness but was brought back when she was taken off the wall. Her eyes fluttered open and the pain in them just fueled Laxus' rage at her father and her situation. She looked at his face and would have registered surprised if she could feel anything other than pain. "O…nii…san…" she said weakly. He was amazed that she remembered him, much less the name she had bestowed on him.

Just then, two things happened. Samuel surged to his feet with a wave of black magic that Laxus had no idea he possessed and began to stalk towards them. The second thing was that an ear piercing yell echoed throughout the mansion. "LUCY!" Of course, it was Natsu and not too far behind him were Erza and Gray. They rushed into the room but stopped abruptly when they saw Laxus. Natsu's face drained of all color when he saw the girl in Laxus' arms. "Lucy…" he whispered, horrified. Erza's mouth fell open and Gray assumed a battle stance. Laxus strode over to Natsu. He held out Lucy and gave him her body. "Get her out of here." He held up his hand when Natsu started to protest. "I know save me the obnoxious schpeel about wanting to punch this guy's lights out. Right now she's on the brink of death and she needs to see Wendy as soon as possible. So get her out of here."

There was a tense moment when Natsu and Laxus stared each other down but something seemed to pass between them which made Natsu nod and turn. He dashed out of there, Gray close on his heels keeping some of the underlings away from them. Erza stayed behind a few moments longer, a question in her eyes. Laxus treated Erza as an equal because of her strength and prowess as an S-class mage but even his reasons behind saving Lucy and kicking this butler's ass were hard for him to admit. So he turned away from her and threw them over his shoulder as he cracked his knuckles in preparation for the fight. "I knew her when I was little. She's my sister."

Natsu burst out of the mansion and rushed to the gate. "Wendy! WENDY!" he screamed. Now that he held Lucy, he could feel just how broken she was and it scared him. The thought of losing her had never crossed his mind but now that it was a very real possibility he had been forced to think of it and it scared him. More than he wanted to admit. Lucy was that special. Wendy came running and stopped short when she saw him. "Oh no Lucy!" she cried. Natsu knelt in front of her so that he was at eye level. "Please Wendy! You have to do something!" Wendy didn't have to be told twice. She closed her eyes in concentration and held her hands over Lucy's body. In her mind's eye she could see the damage done to Lucy's body and tears ran down her face as she healed as much as she could.

After a while, Wendy stopped and dropped to her knees, breathing hard. Gray knelt beside her and picked her up. "We should take them both back to the guild." He said. Natsu nodded. Lucy didn't look much better but her breathing had strengthened a bit which was encouraging. Wendy leaned her head on Gray's chest and said, "I'm sorry. I wish I was stronger. I stopped her internal bleeding and made it so she won't die yet but there's still a lot I need to do." She was still crying but Gray shook his head. "No Wendy you did what you could. You need to rest. You can do some more once you have more magic power."

Erza caught up with them and informed them that Mirajane knew of the situation and was organizing a retreat. She didn't tell them what Laxus had said, respecting his privacy enough for that. She had decided to help Mira bring everybody back. Jude had already escaped to a safer location and it would be a waste of time to try and track him down just yet. Besides, their main purpose was to make sure Lucy was safe and healed. Natsu and Gray got back to the guild as fast as possible and put the girls down on the beds. Gray left to help move in the other wounded but Natsu didn't want to leave Lucy.

It took a while but the wounded were dealt with and the infirmary calmed down a bit. Natsu didn't move from his place beside Lucy's bed. Wendy woke and healed Lucy further but after her second attempt she could do no more. She eventually went home with Erza to Fairy Hills and the guild got much quieter as more and more people left. Laxus got back a bit later, a bit wounded but otherwise alright. Natsu glanced up as he came in to look at her and he sighed. "The bastard used Dark Magic and got away just when I was beating him. You might just get a shot at him yet Natsu." That was all he said though. He sat in the corner of the room for a while but when Mira came in to tell them she was leaving he left with her. Then Natsu was all alone with Lucy's unconscious body.

The night dragged on and Natsu knew he should sleep but he just couldn't. He somehow felt like he'd failed her. He felt like her injuries were his fault. His head dropped onto the bed. "I am so sorry Luce…" he said quietly. Suddenly he felt something touching his hair. The touch was feather soft and very weak but it was there. "Wasn't… your…fault." She whispered. Natsu's head shot up, her hand falling on top of his now clenched fist. "Lucy?" he said. Her eyes were still closed but one of them opened weakly. "I'm… sorry…couldn't…fight." She said, one tear falling down her face. Natsu opened his clenched fist and took her hand gently. "Lucy I'm the one that's sorry. I left and I should have been there to protect you! If I'd just taken you with me before I left this would never have happened!" he said, hanging his head.

Lucy couldn't stand to see him so upset. It took a lot of strength for her weakened body but she laced her fingers through his. He glanced back up at her, eyes slightly wide. "I don't… blame you… Natsu." She whispered. "Besides…Onii-san saved me." She added. "Onii-san?" Natsu asked. He was confused; the only other person he'd seen in the room was Laxus… wait a minute. His hand tightened around Lucy's as he stared at her, shocked. "Laxus… is my… half-brother." Lucy confirmed. "We have… the same mother. She told me… before she died."

Natsu had never been so shocked in his life. He had never pictured Laxus as having a sister but now that he thought about it… the similarities were there. And when he'd stared Laxus down earlier, he could see how angry Laxus had been at that Samuel guy. That had struck Natsu as strange for a moment since Laxus rarely cared about anyone other than himself. Laxus had also seemed unusually worried when he came to see Lucy in the infirmary earlier that evening. The pieces all added up in Natsu's mind. He realized then that Lucy was waiting for a reaction. "Wow." He managed. "I have to say I didn't see that one coming. But it makes sense now that you mention it." The corners of Lucy's mouth turned up slightly in a poor attempt at a smile but Natsu was relieved all the same. If she could attempt to smile, she must be getting better. Or at least not dying anymore.

A silence settled over them for a bit but it wasn't awkward. It was a comfortable silence. Then Lucy said, "You should… go home and… sleep Natsu." Natsu squeezed her hand and shook his head. "No way. I'm not leaving you alone!" Lucy sighed. "I was kinda… hoping you'd say that." She said, eyes closing rapidly. Lucy had been very afraid he would take her up on her advice. She didn't want to be alone quite yet so she was relieved when he refused to leave. She patted the place beside her and whispered, "You should at least… be comfortable… if you're gonna… stay here." Natsu didn't need a second invitation. He slid up onto the bed with her and settled in. He made sure not to touch her bandaged body other than the hand he was holding. Lucy sighed again and rested her temple on his shoulder. She promptly fell asleep, Natsu not too far behind. Neither one of them let go of the other's hand.

**AWWWWW! See? I put some Nalu in this chapter! Just not as much as I could have... Gomen! But I promise all you Nalu fans (like me!) will be happy with the next chapter. Scout's honor! So what did you think of Laxus being Lucy's brother? Let me know! **

**I have a test coming up this week that I know is gonna be super duper hard but I'm gonna study and study and study so I'm gonna be really busy. I will have the next chapter up by Sunday though so do not fear!**

**Love to all my readers,**

**CC22**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey I'm back! So I promised lots on NaLu and I think I've delivered on my promise. This is one hell of a chapter and I had quite the time writing it! I had some writers block but once I broke through that I both finished this chapter and wrote about half of the next one. It might be up early this week though I'm not too sure about that seeing as scheduling takes place this week and there is a lot going on besides all that. I hope I can finish it early for you but I won't make a promise I don't think I can keep. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as I did writing it! **

Chapter 13

They were found the next morning by Lisanna. Both were still asleep from the night they'd had and they were still holding hands. Lisanna went to the door and whispered, "Mira-nee! You have to see this!" Mirajane came to her sister, wondering what all the fuss was about. When she saw the two of them she almost exploded. Lisanna rushed her out of the room before she could. When she was a safe distance away, Lisanna uncovered her sister's mouth. "THAT WAS SO CUTE!" Mira screamed. The only two in the guild hall that early were Wakaba and Cana. Both just rolled their eyes and went back to drinking or smoking.

The couple slept for about two more hours before Natsu woke up. He noticed Lucy was still sleeping but felt an incomparable joy that she was asleep and not dead. If she'd been in that hellhole for much longer, she would have died, that Natsu was sure of. He slid his hand out of hers and slid back into his seat next to her bed to watch over her. Mirajane came in with something for him to eat a little later and she winked at him before she left. He had no idea what that meant but shrugged it off to eat the food. He was _starving_.

Natsu had just finished eating when Laxus came in. Knowing that Laxus was Lucy's brother, Natsu figured he deserved to know that she'd woken up. Laxus dragged a chair to her bedside and sat in it backwards. He avoided Natsu's gaze and kept his eyes on Lucy's sleeping form. "She woke up for a few minutes last night." Natsu said. Now Laxus did look up at him. "She said you were her brother. Well, half-brother at least." He continued. Laxus looked back down at his sister's sleeping form. "So she did know." He said. Natsu just nodded. There was a moment of silence and then Laxus finally began to speak. Mirajane had come in to check on Lucy and heard part of what they said. With her, she brought the Master who also heard about the whole sister thing. Laxus took a breath, "The Master told me just after her mother died who she was. I didn't know because I've always been with either my father or the old man. Then I was never allowed to see her so I had no idea if she even knew we were related but I'd always seen her when our mom was still alive. I guess that's why she visited a lot." He kept watching Lucy's peaceful face, not making eye contact with anyone.

Makarov nodded solemnly. "Layla fell in love with Ivan a long time ago. They were young lovers, innocent and pure and before I knew it, she was pregnant. They planned to get married but then Ivan was caught cheating. It turns out my boy never meant to marry Layla in the first place. He just loved her for her looks, nothing more. When I learned this, I warned Layla to leave him but then she had her baby. When Ivan found out it was a boy, he wanted Laxus for himself. Layla didn't want to give up her precious son but Ivan had something on her. He knew she had fallen for Jude Heartfilia and he threatened her new fiancé and their happiness. The only way she could save herself and Jude was to give Ivan her son. So she did but not before secretly coming to me and making me promise to keep Laxus safe." Laxus and Natsu both listened with awe to the tale. Laxus didn't know all these details and Mirajane was just good at hiding her real thoughts. "I made sure Laxus wasn't harmed too much but there was only so much I could do. Ivan hated me, he still does. Eventually, I just took Laxus from him but he never paid the boy much mind anyway. That's when I contacted Layla and let her visit so that she could see her son. I learned that she'd had a daughter with Jude and that was Lucy. She came with her mother to visit and she and Laxus got along well. I didn't understand it when Jude forbade her from seeing him after Layla passed but maybe that's when he started going rotten." Makarov finished.

"Papa forbade me because he was jealous of Ivan." A soft voice said from the bed. The occupants of the room whirled to face her. Wendy was called for and Mirajane rushed to the bedside. "How are you feeling Lucy?" she asked. Lucy finally smiled a full smile. "I'm much better Mira. Thanks to Wendy I guess." Wendy came in and looked her over. "She's gonna be fine! All she needs to do is take it easy for a few days and she'll be ok!" she announced. If the room could, it would have uttered a huge sigh of relief. Since it couldn't the people in it obliged.

Lucy noticed Laxus sitting by the bed and couldn't help but stare at him. She hadn't seen him since she was five so it had been a long time. Mira noticed this and dragged everyone out of the room to leave them alone. Natsu did not appreciate this but Mira glared at him and everyone else in the guild who wanted to see Lucy when they heard she was better. "Give her a few minutes with her brother and then you can go see her!" She posted Erza as a guard for Lucy's door, a task Erza was very willing to take. Her eyes dared anyone to come even a few inches closer to the door.

In the infirmary, things were rather quiet. Finally, Lucy said, "It's… been a while Laxus." He nodded and looked down. His hand was resting on the edge of the bed and Lucy reached out and took it. He was rather surprised at how soft her hands were. Her body was covered in bandages and he knew she would be left with a few scars not even Wendy could heal. But her hands were still smooth and unscarred. He looked back up at her and realized she was giggling quietly. "You haven't changed at all! You were always quiet and kept to yourself. But I always did have the most fun with you." She exclaimed. This earned her a tiny smile from Laxus. "You haven't changed much either." He said. "You always smiled and you talk more than enough for both of us." Lucy was now laughing weakly. Laxus found this rather contagious and he began to chuckle.

Once their mirth died down, Lucy said, "I'm glad we're back together Nii-san." Laxus squeezed her hand lightly and said, "Now that we are… you have to promise me something." Lucy's eyes filled with a questioning look. "You have to promise you won't leave me anymore. It's ok for missions and stuff; I mean you can't leave for good." Lucy stared at him in awe. She was NOT expecting that. Laxus' cheeks were tinged with pink. He didn't usually act like this. But this was his sister and she had always been the only one he had ever opened up to so she knew his softer side. He watched as Lucy's face melted into a soft smile. She sat up in her bed, which did scare Laxus a bit as the bandages shifted with her body. She winced because of her bruises but she managed to stay sitting up. "I promise Laxus. I won't leave you again." She said. Laxus grinned, satisfied with her promise. "Now, can you do something for me? I wanna see the rest of the guild and get out of this room. I know I shouldn't be moving on my own so can you get me out there?" she asked. Laxus nodded. "Let me go out there and tell them so that they can set something up for you." Lucy grinned as he left the room.

Natsu stood when Laxus finally exited the guild. The whole hall had been waiting for his entrance; it was much quieter than it had ever been. "Lucy wants to come out here to see all of you but she isn't supposed to move around a lot. So she needs a chair and you guys need to be calm when you address her because she'll get tired if you overwhelm her with questions." Laxus said. The girls began to move about getting pillows and blankets for Lucy's chair. Mira ordered that it be near the bar so that she could watch over Lucy and maybe try to get some food in her.

While this was happening, Macao and Wakaba approached Laxus. "Ne, Laxus is it true that she's your sister?" they asked, not sure if they could believe what Cana had heard from someone tracing all the way back to Mira. Laxus looked at the two men and said, "She is my sister. We have the same mother just different fathers." He was getting more and more comfortable admitting it. After all, having a sister isn't a weakness. The two patted him on the back. "She's lucky you're her brother. You're strong; you can protect her." Macao said. Laxus nodded and turned back to watch the preparations.

Once the girls were satisfied, the chair looked more like a throne. Laxus went back into Lucy's room to get the princess of the day. He lifted her gingerly and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was smiling when she came out into the guild hall. Laxus set her in her cushioned chair and she leaned back. "Thank you!" she said, grinning. Laxus nodded then retreated to his favorite place on the balcony to watch the proceedings. Natsu and Gray positioned themselves on either side of Lucy's chair. Gray felt a brotherly protectiveness for Lucy and Natsu… wasn't exactly sure what he felt. Happy, after gaining permission, was curled in Lucy's lap and Charle was on the arm of her chair. The white cat had been more worried than she'd let on about Lucy. Hearing the panicked cry had really scared her and she wanted to make sure Lucy wasn't being tired by the ruffians of the guild.

Guild members crowded around Lucy, giving her news and asking after her health. Lucy's smile never faltered as she answered their questions and talked with the members. Romeo pushed his way through the crowd, dragging his father behind him. "This is my dad! Remember, I said he wanted to meet you?" he asked. Lucy grinned. "I remember. It's nice to meet you Macao-san!" she said. Macao grinned and nodded to her. He was quickly replaced with Wakaba and steadily, Lucy met every member of the guild she didn't already know. The day flew by and Lucy grew very tired. By the end of the day, it was hard for her to keep her head up. Natsu noticed this and tapped her on the arm. Lucy turned to him slowly. "Yeah Natsu?" she said quietly. "You tired?" he asked. She nodded. "Maybe a little." She replied. Natsu picked her up carefully and took her back to the infirmary. She was asleep before he was halfway across the guildhall. Her head fell onto his chest and her arms, which were around his neck, loosened. Natsu put her down on the bed and covered her up. "Goodnight Luce." He whispered.

That night did not turn out to be good for Lucy. See, even though she seems like a happy, smiling, perfect little angel, Lucy Heartfilia has insecurities. Since coming to Fairytail, she has met all these mages who were super strong and had developed their powers. Now, everybody knows that Lucy is strong and powerful herself but she didn't see it. She only saw all the times she couldn't help Natsu or Gray in their missions to stop her father. She saw the time she was saved. But most of all, she saw the torture chamber and felt the sting of the knife and the blows of Samuel's fist. And she heard, over and over, _"Weakling. Who do you think you are going against your father? You can't do anything! You're so weak that guild won't bother saving you. And even if, by some miracle, they can save you… what then? We can just capture you again. You will never amount to anything stupid weak bitch."_

All these factors came together to create a horrible nightmare. And this wasn't the first time Lucy had had this same nightmare. She'd had it before she'd first woken up. In fact, the horror of it had woken her up and that was when she'd heard Natsu apologizing. Though Lucy knew it was entirely her fault that she'd been as hurt as she had been. She couldn't help believing everything the Samuel in her dreams continuously told her. And so, early the next morning, she woke up shaking and crying. "I'm not weak…" she said. But even her voice sounded pathetic to her. Lucy sat in her bed, the bandages pulling against her healing skin. Wendy had patched most of the wounds but the bandages were to mostly to prevent infection. Lucy wanted to go out into the hall where she knew Mira would be. She really just wanted to get out of that room and forget about her nightmare.

Lucy knew she should wait for someone to come in and help her but as she thought about that, she realized that it made her seem weak. "I'm not weak." She mumbled to herself. And so she stood up and took a step forward. She nearly fell over and was left gasping. _Geez I must be starving! I can barely walk! But I have to do this. I have to make it into the hall._ Lucy took another small step and that's when Natsu burst in. "Good morning Lu- what the HELL are you DOING?!" he stopped mid-sentence and yelled at her. Lucy frowned slightly at him. "I'm walking to the guild hall that's what!" she said huffily. "Luce you can't! You have to rest like Wendy said!" Natsu exclaimed. He could see the effort she was putting forth just to stay standing. "I can do it Natsu." She said. Natsu walked up to her and poked her. She immediately fell back onto the bed. Sitting up slowly she glared at him. "What the hell was that for Natsu?!" she snapped.

Natsu frowned back at her. "See? You're too weak to be walking around yet!" he exclaimed. The fact was she was scaring him and he didn't like it. Lucy's eyes watered at his words. "I can do it! I can! I'm not weak! I-"she started but Natsu cut her off. "Dammit Luce! You almost DIED! That man almost KILLED you three days ago! You can't expect to be fully recovered from that! Do you know how much I was worried about you?!" That caught Lucy off guard and her crying slowed. "I carried you out of that hellhole and I couldn't tell if there was a single bone in your body that wasn't broken! At first, we couldn't figure out where you were cut because there was too much blood! You were barely breathing Luce! You kept passing out and you weren't able to make a single noise even with all that pain! I thought I had lost you! Do you know what would happen if that happened? Cuz I don't!" he exclaimed. Lucy's eyes were wide. Natsu was visibly shaking now and she thought maybe his eyes were wet with tears but she couldn't quite tell. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you Lucy." He continued, quieter this time. "So stop doing stupid things like trying to walk when you don't have enough strength yet. I love you too much to lose you." He finished. Somewhere along the line Natsu had sorted out his feelings and figure out what they were. He was very scared just admitting them but it kinda… just came out.

Lucy was absolutely stunned. She took a few seconds to process what Natsu had said and her eyes widened when his final words sunk in. "You… do you really love me?" she asked. Natsu didn't expect her to ask that question. He thought it had been obvious but then again, he didn't realize it himself until late the night before. He sunk into the chair next to her bed. "I really do Luce." He said. He watched her carefully, trying to decide if this was good news to her or not. "E-even though I'm weak?" she asked, even quieter. Natsu's eyes widened. "What? Of course! You're not gonna be weak forever Lucy! I mean, once you get some of Mira's cooking and you rest a tiny bit more you'll be back to your normal self!" he said. He was relatively confused. Didn't Lucy know she would get better?

Lucy's eyes filled with fresh tears. "No I mean even though I'm not as strong as you and the rest of the guild? Even though I'm pretty much useless?" her hands curled into fists. "Even though I can't fight off people who want to hurt me?" Natsu was stunned. Is this what Lucy thought of herself? She thought she was weak? Did she have any idea how ridiculous that sounded? There was only one thing Natsu could think of to do that would convince Lucy that he was serious. He used his thumb and index finger to lift her chin up so that she was looking at him. Then, Natsu Dragneel leaned in and kissed her. Yes, dear reader, he did just do that. And he enjoyed it. So did Lucy, though she was a bit shocked at first. His lips were warm and soft and his kiss was gentle. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer while her arms wrapped around his neck to support her.

It seemed like only a few seconds when he pulled back but both were panting a bit. Lucy's cheeks were red but the smile on her face said more than her words could at the moment. "You aren't weak Luce." Natsu said once he'd caught his breath. "You risked your life and safety just to help us fight your father. You were never safe in that house yet you still stayed there just to help us. A weak person wouldn't do that. And a weak person wouldn't have tried to fight that man just so that they could have time to call for help." Lucy's smile grew wider and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you Natsu." She whispered. "And… I love you too." Natsu buried his head in her hair, breathing in her scent and pulled her close. He couldn't make the smile on his face disappear, not that he'd want to.

**AWWWWWWW! I'm with Mira: THAT WAS SO CUUUUUUTE! I hope this chapter makes you smile. I was so proud when I was done. Please do leave a review and tell me what you think. Also, I hope Makarov's explanation for how Laxus and Lucy are siblings was good. Please give me opinions and ideas! **

**Love to all my readers,**

**CC22**


	14. Chapter 14

**GOMENASAI! SORRY! I know this is a late update but this weekend Hurricane Sandy hit the area and we were all advised to stay away from computors and other electronic things as much as possible. So I didn't get to update it. Also, part way through the day my internet stopped working. But it came back! SO! I have the next chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy it. This one goes into Lucy's start at FairyTail.**

**Please leave a review when you finish! I'd love to hear what you think!**

Chapter 14

After that little incident was wrapped up, things began looking up for Lucy. She ate ravenously that day and gained quite a bit of strength. She was up and walking in two days though Natsu watched her carefully to make sure she didn't fall. By the end of that week, Lucy was just about back to normal. Once she'd reached that conclusion, she decided it was time for her to leave the infirmary and get her own place. And so that was what she was talking to Mirajane about as she sat at the bar drinking a milkshake. "I just want a place of my own. I don't want any reminders of my father around and I don't want to take up space here in the guild hall." She explained. Mirajane nodded and thought for a minute. "You could stay at Fairy Hills with the rest of the girls!" she exclaimed. Lucy thought for a minute herself then she shook her head. "It's too expensive. I think I'll go look for an apartment of some kind in town. If I can't find anything near the guild, I'll stay at Fairy Hills." She concluded. Mirajane didn't argue. Lucy was finally getting over the fear of her father and while she was still in great danger, things were calming down and besides, Natsu would never let anything happen to her.

Lucy finished her milkshake and waved to Mira. "I guess I'll see ya later! If Natsu comes by, you can tell him where I went." She added. She knew the Dragon Slayer would be worried if she was on her own and so she summoned Virgo to walk with her. The two walked about the city, talking about events in the spirit world and her magic. As much as Virgo could annoy Lucy with her petitions for punishment, she was a very loyal spirit and she and Lucy had developed a friendship. Virgo was also very protective of her master. Because of this, she was on alert for anything coming close to Lucy. This was one of the reasons that Lucy had summoned this particular spirit. "Princess, boyfriend alert. He's behind you and closing fast. Shall I subdue him?" she asked. Lucy turned to her and giggled. Virgo had a tiny smile on her face which indicated she was joking. "No, that won't be necessary Virgo." She said. Then she turned around to greet Natsu.

"Lucy!" Natsu called when he got close. "Hey Natsu!" she replied, giving him a kiss when he finally reached her. "Mira told me you were looking for an apartment. Why don't you stay at Fairy Hills?" he asked. She couldn't help but smile at the question. She'd been expecting it. "I want something I can call my own. I've never really had that before but now's my chance. I promised Mira if I couldn't find anywhere close to the guild I would stay in Fairy Hills." She explained. This seemed to pacify Natsu which was a great relief to Lucy. "Wanna help me look?" she asked. Natsu jumped at her offer and they continued walking. Virgo went back to the spirit world but only after promising to send Lucy's greetings to all the other spirits. Lucy turned and started walking back down the street. Natsu fell in step with her and reached out, grabbing her hand. This gesture put a smile on Lucy's face.

It took a while but finally Lucy found the perfect apartment. It was 70,000J but it was pretty close to the guild and it had a huge bathroom which was great for Lucy. It also came furnished which was good because Lucy didn't have anything from her house. The other girls had bought clothing for her but other than that she didn't have much. She had enough money saved to pay for the first two month's rent but after that… This thought scared her a bit but, as he always did, Natsu fixed things for her. "Erza invited us on a mission. It pays well and if you come you'll get a cut of the pay. Then you can pay your rent!" he said with his trademark grin. She grinned back and nodded. "Ok, we're supposed to be at the train station tomorrow morning!" he said.

And so, the next morning, Lucy woke up early to shower before the mission. She wasn't surprised when she came out of the shower and saw Natsu on her couch. She'd left her window unlocked out of habit and he seemed to prefer entering that way. Happy was with him and he looked up when she entered. "You ready Luce?" Natsu asked, cocking his head to the side.

Lucy nodded and together they ran out the door and down the street towards the train station. Natsu slowed up when they reached the group and he was starting to look a little green around the ears. Lucy was a bit worried. She'd never see Natsu like this before. "Erza do we have to take the train?" he asked, sounding more like a four year old than an adult. Erza glared at him. "We are taking the train. It is the fastest route." She stated. The aura around her was kinda scary and so Natsu nodded, though he looked very upset about it.

Lucy learned the reason for this once the train set off. Natsu was profoundly motion sick. He was miserable. Lucy was almost afraid of what Erza would do because of this but it looked like Natsu would puke at any second. Lucy remembered that when she was sick like that, one of the maids in the house would hold her hair back and stroke her temples. It always made her feel better. "Natsu?" Lucy said, hesitant because Erza was looking intently their way. Natsu couldn't respond but he glanced her way to acknowledge that he'd heard her. "Y-you can lay your head on my lap if you want." She said. Erza's expression did not change but Gray raised his eyebrows. Natsu, however, took her up on her offer and lay his head down. Lucy began to gently stroke his hair, letting her fingers play in his pink locks. Natsu closed his eyes and sighed slightly. It did make him feel much better.

It was like a miracle when Natsu got off the train. He was all better and back to his former self. Lucy stepped off the train last after seeing to their baggage and when she did she squealed as Natsu picked her up in a huge hug. "Thanks Luce! You made me feel loads better on that train!" he said. Lucy blushed, embarrassed by his gratitude. "It's fine Natsu really. That always made me feel better when I was sick and I figured I'd try it." She said. "Hurry up you two! Or we'll leave you behind!" Gray shouted. Natsu glared at his best frienemy. "What was that?" he yelled. Gray smirked. "I said you're slow!" he taunted. Natsu's fist caught fire and he pointed one finger at him. "I'm faster than you any day! I bet I can beat you to the mayor's house!" he challenged. Lucy sweat dropped at this challenge. "Um guys I don't think-" she was cut off by Gray who said, "Oh really? Well then we'll just have to see!" He took off running. "Why you…!" Natsu said. He was about to start running when a wind blew by them. It was Erza. "I will not lose!" she called. Lucy now face palmed. Then suddenly she was running, Natsu dragging her by the hand.

"Natsu! I can't run as fast as you!" she cried as she tried to keep from tripping. Natsu stopped and crouched down like he had the first time they met. "Get on hurry!" he said. "Oh that's ok I'll just meet you guys. If you're gonna win you shouldn't have to carry me. I'd slow you down." She said, waving her hands in front of her face. Natsu turned his head to look at her. He had his huge, trademark goofy grin on his face. "You could never slow me down Luce!" he said. A soft, slow smile spread across Lucy's features. She climbed on his back and wrapped her arms around him. Natsu stood and adjusted her weight. "You ready?" he asked her. She squeezed him, "Go!" she yelled. Natsu took off down the street, making up the ground he'd lost quite fast.

Natsu and Lucy quickly passed Erza who had stopped to buy some strawberry cake she'd seen and couldn't resist. Then it was just Natsu and Gray. They were neck and neck and the mayor's house was approaching. Lucy was having the time of her life. She was laughing more than she'd ever laughed in her entire life and she had forgotten any apprehensions she'd had before coming on this mission. They were about to reach the gate to the mayor's mansion and it looked like it would be a tie. In FairyTail, there are no ties. And so, just as they were getting close, Lucy yelled, "Sorry Gray!" and shoved him slightly. At the speed they were going, the slight shove sent Gray veering off course and into some bushes. Natsu burst through the gate triumphantly. He stopped and let a still laughing Lucy off of him before turning around and giving Lucy a high-five. "We make a great team!" he said. Lucy nodded.

About then, Gray came out of the bushes with twigs and leaves sticking out everywhere and a frown on his face. "That was so not fair!" he said. Natsu would have replied but Lucy beat him to it. "Don't be a sore loser Gray!" she said playfully. The smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes effectively shut him up. Gray had never seen her so relaxed and happy before and he knew if he started a fight, that would go away. He just shrugged and turned when he heard the rattling of cart wheels which meant that Erza was coming.

The mission went well after that. They caught the pesky bandits and received the reward. Lucy let Natsu put his head on her lap on the return trip and Erza gave her a cut of the reward when they got back to Magnolia. All in all, Lucy was really happy with it. The four had gotten back in the middle of the afternoon and decided to head to the guild. Lucy wanted to go home and shower and freshen up a bit so she said, "I'll meet you guys there." And headed to her home. Little did the four of them know the news that awaited them at the guild.

**Sorry if it's too short for you! I think the next one will be longer. I wanted to give you guys a glimpse into Lucy's life at FairyTail and a break from the intensity of the last few chapters. I didn't describe the mission in detail because I couldn't think of anything and because it just isn't as important. It had nothing to do with the main plot which is her father's antagonization so... I'm sorry if you didn't like this one. We get back to the actual story in the next chapter.**

**Natsu: Review people!**

**Me: KYAAAAA! Where the hell did you come from?!**

**Natsu: Your head! We're all in here now! It happens to authors who write stories about us.**

**Me: Oh dear... Well-**

**Lucy: Love to all her readers! CC22 is signing out!**

**Me: O.O**


	15. Chapter 15

**So I felt really bad that I didn't update in time last week so I've decided to be a day early this time instead of a day late! I worked hard to bring more drama to this story through this chapter so I hope you will enjoy!**

**Natsu: She also doesn't own any of us.**

**Me: Oh crap I thought I got rid of you guys.**

**Lucy: Nope!**

**Me: *sigh* Well just enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 15

Lucy took a long and refreshing bath. She stood in her towel in front of her closet thinking about what to wear. She finally decided on a green tank top, khaki shorts, a black belt, a leather bracelet and her black combat boots. She pulled her hair up into its traditional side ponytail and grinned at her reflection. She went to her nightstand and clipped her keys and her whip to her belt and was now ready to head to the guild.

She was about halfway there when she saw Natsu, Gray, Erza and Happy running (or in Happy's case, flying) towards her. She was rather surprised at the worried looks that were identical on her friend's faces. Natsu reached her first and bent over, hands on his knees, catching his breath. In between gasps he said, "Lucy! Thank god you're ok!" Lucy was very confused. "Lucy!" Erza said when she reached her blond friend. "You are safe! You were not disturbed when you were at home were you?" she asked. The worry in her scarlet-tressed friend's eyes somewhat scared Lucy. She nodded. "I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" she asked hesitantly. Gray kept looking around them and finally said, "The guild got a letter regarding you. We thought you might be in danger." Lucy paled a bit.

Natsu didn't want to confuse her so he said, "Let's go back to the guild. They'll want to know she is ok and then we can decide what we're gonna do from here." It was a pretty solid idea and the other two agreed. The four headed back to the guild with Lucy deep in thought. She had a tiny idea in the back of her mind about what the letter contained but she didn't want to believe it. Why would her father do something like that? Then again, her father was evil so it might make sense… Natsu noticed that she was in a far off place and not paying any attention to where she was going. He waved his hand in front of her face and she blinked a few time. "It's gonna be fine Luce!" he said, giving her a smile. A small smile flashed across her features and she nodded, grabbing his hand. He squeezed her hand in his and they caught up to the others.

It wasn't long before they reached the guild. As promised, Lucy's house wasn't that far from it. They entered and immediately, Lucy was surrounded by Mira, Levy, Lisanna and Laxus. "You're ok!" they exclaimed. Lucy smiled at them and said, "I'm fine! Now will somebody please explain this whole business about a letter and me not being ok?" She was starting to become exasperated. Levy ran and grabbed the letter as Makarov came out to sit on the balcony railing. "Here you go Lucy. Everyone else has already heard it but why don't you read it again?" Levy said, handing the letter to her best friend. Lucy grabbed it and began to read.

_FairyTail,_

_I believe you have something that belongs to me. I want her returned right away as she is part of a very important marriage contract. If she is not returned in one week's time, I will have to use force and that cannot go well for your establishment. I'm sure you'll see what's right in that much time and I trust you'll make the right decision._

_ Jude Heartfilia_

Lucy glared at the letter as if she were glaring at the man who wrote it. Natsu was also frowning. "He can't have her!" he said. Lucy looked over at him as he grabbed her hand again. Then her other hand was grabbed by Laxus who said, "I finally see my sister again and he wants to separate us? It isn't gonna happen!" Lucy felt the glare softening as each and every member of the guild affirmed that she was, in fact, not going anywhere. Even Erza said, "She is my friend and I will not send a friend back to a man like that!" Lucy looked around at this new family she'd gained and a smile finally lit up her face. "Thank you everyone."

Makarov took this opportunity to clear some phlegm from his throat thereby gaining the attention of the entire guild. "Well now that we're of one mind about keeping Lucy with us, we have to go about making sure she stays safe. Lucy, would you be opposed to a posted guard?" he asked. Lucy thought for a minute and said, "I always had one when I lived with that man but if it's you guys I won't mind. You're all my friends." Natsu immediately volunteered to do it which made Mirajane sigh and think of more wedding plans. Erza and Gray were quick to follow suit. Laxus also volunteered and soon the entire guild was fighting over who would guard her. Lucy, Levy and Mira dodged flying chairs and tables to reach the safety of the bar. The reached it not a moment too soon. Makarov made his hand grow huge and squashed any guild members in the center of the hall so that they would stop fighting. He also managed to crush some tables and chairs which Mira knew would have to be replaced. She shook her head, "Really Master? The tables too?" she muttered.

Once it was quiet, Lucy said, "I think it would be best if Natsu, Gray, Erza and Laxus took turns guarding me." This made sense because she and Natsu were…. Well they were dating at this point. Gray had always been protective of her and Erza was the strongest mage she knew. Laxus was her brother and also was very protective of her. The rest of the guild agreed upon this decision and Makarov decided this was grounds for a party. And so party they did!

Natsu took the first day of guarding her. They were walking back to Lucy's home after the party, Lucy deep in thought. Glancing up at Natsu, she decided to ask the question that had plaguing her ever since she'd heard about the letter. "What's up?" Natsu asked. He could tell that something was bothering her. She'd been walking this whole way home with a small frown on her face. "Why do you think my dad went and did all this? I mean starting a horrible gang and killing people. Why would he do that? It seems rather drastic for someone who is just grieving over the loss of his wife." She asked. Natsu thought for a minute. He put his arms behind his head as he walked. "I think grief can make a person go crazy if he loved her enough. I mean, I don't know what I'd do if you… well if something happened to you." At her startled expression he said, "I promise I won't go around killing people for fun." She relaxed after that.

They reached her house and Lucy, who was still tired from the mission they'd just returned from, decided she was going to go to bed a bit early. She slipped underneath the covers and wasn't too surprised when Natsu joined her. Just as she was drifting off, she felt his arms circle her waist and pull her close. Lucy fell asleep with a smile on her face.

The week was rather uneventful so I won't bore you with the details. Lucy had lots of fun with her new "bodyguards" and she got to know Gray and Erza much better than she had. In fact, after her night with Erza, she began to look to her as an older sister while after her night with Gray (he slept on the couch) she began to look at him as a best friend and brother. The guild was on edge for an attack which had been threatened by the letter Lucy's father had sent. And at the end of the week, it came. It did not come to Lucy's house (much to her relief) but rather it came directly to the guild. The doors exploded on the afternoon of the seventh day since the note arrived. A huge group of minions led by none other than Samuel rushed into the guild. Luckily, the guild had a warning due to Wendy and Natsu's enhanced sense of smell. And so the battle began.

Even Lucy fought. She didn't like having other people fight battles where she was involved. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" she called. A huge cow-man sprung from his gate and grabbed his axe. "I shall protect your nice body!" he cried. Lucy rolled her eyes and pointed at the enemy. "That's your target!" Taurus got to work. All around her, guild members were fighting to make sure she stayed safe. Then Lucy realized she had no idea where Samuel was. She looked around, using her whip to keep others at bay, yet she could not spot Samuel. "Looking for me Lucy-dono?" cried a voice from above her head. Samuel had somehow made it to the ceiling and was now jumping down to attack her directly. Lucy let out an, "Eep!" and braced for impact. Natsu heard her cry (his hearing is no joke) and looked up from his fight. "LUCY!" he yelled.

Suddenly, Samuel was flying into the opposite wall. Instead of Samuel, Laxus landed beside Lucy. There was a glare on his face that would send chills down even Erza's spine if she were not busy fighting other members of the Gremlins. Natsu quickly beat up the minion he was fighting and went to support Laxus. Samuel got up slowly, an evil grin on his face. "I see your fist is as hard as ever." He said to Laxus. Laxus didn't dignify that with a response. Lucy's eyes had widened in fear as the memories of her torture were brought back up to the surface. Natsu noticed this and yelled, "Erza! Get Lucy out of here!" Erza heard this and nodded but had to finish fighting the minion she was up against. Samuel also heard this and said, "Why? She should stay and play some more!" Laxus growled low in his throat. "You leave her alone." He growled. Samuel laughed. "You all are so funny with your ideas about everyone living their own lives! Nobody gets to decide what they want to do with their lives. Lucy has to marry into the Eucliffe family so as to create an alliance that will have all of Magnolia trembling!" he said. Natsu's eyes widened. He looked over at Lucy. "You were supposed to marry a Eucliffe?!" he asked.

Lucy nodded, "I-I was supposed to marry Sting Eucliffe." She said. Now Natsu's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "I know that bastard!" he cried. "That asshole was the one who hurt you? I hate him more than anything but now… He's gonna die when I get my hands on him!" Lucy cringed at the glare in Natsu's eyes. She didn't feel very bad for Sting though. Samuel watched this exchange with a smirk on his face. "There are so many things you don't know!" He exclaimed. "Even Lucy, who spied for you, doesn't know the full extent of her father's lust for revenge." At his words, Lucy dared a peek at Samuel. He caught the glance in her eyes and his smirk became even smugger. "So you didn't know. That's almost more entertaining than this petty fight. Your mother didn't just get sick. Somebody poisoned her and there was nothing your father could do about it. Politicians and mages alike weren't able to help him and so now he blames them for the loss of Layla-sama. Really I thought you knew!" he said, almost gloating.

This was a huge bomb to drop into Lucy's world. Lucy had loved her mother more than she'd ever loved anyone in the entire world. "I-It isn't true!" she said. She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than those around her. "Y-you're lying!" she cried. Natsu could see she was starting to become hysterical. "Erza!" he cried. Luckily, Erza was delivering the final blow to her opponent. She rushed over to Lucy. Erza picked Lucy up (since there was no way Lucy was gonna walk in her frame of mind) and began to run out. Before she made it all the way out, however, Samuel tossed one more grenade. "Try asking some of your spirits! Layla-sama passed them to you after she died!" He was sent flying but this time by Natsu. He stood with his fist out, his hair hiding his eyes from view. As Samuel stood up again, a smirk on his face, Natsu looked up to reveal an enraged fire in his eyes. His body became engulfed with flames. "SHUT UP!" he screamed. "CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO HER?!" Samuel laughed but the minions he'd brought with him were very disturbed by this change in attitude. They began to flee for their very lives.

Samuel noticed his lack of backup and Lucy had already been safely moved. It would be a waste of his time to fight the entire guild. Even he knew he couldn't beat all of them. So, using his magic, he burst through a window and ran with them. Before he left, he said, "This isn't the last time we will meet Natsu Dragneel." Natsu wanted to follow but was held back by Laxus. "He isn't important right now. You have to go to Lucy. Make sure my sister is ok." He said. A silence had fallen over the guild as they waited to see what Natsu would do. Slowly, the wild look left his eyes and he nodded. Running for the door, he picked up on Erza's scent and began to follow it to where Lucy was.

He found them in an abandoned building not too far from the guild. The sight that greeted his eyes was terrible. Erza was standing guard but there was such sadness in her eyes that no one had ever seen before. Lucy was in the arms of another man sobbing her heart out. At first Natsu tensed up, ready to take out his still-present anger on the man holding Lucy. That was until the man looked up and Natsu recognized him as Lucy's spirit, Leo. The look in his eyes was pained and full of grief. "It was true." He said to Natsu.

**Oh my! I can't believe I decided to add that little detail. It adds more twists though so I'm glad I did. Lots of times when I write I just let my fingers go and they type whatever comes into my head. It means heavy editting but I think it makes the story much better. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review when you go!**

**Happy: CatsCradle22 liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes her readers!**

**Me: Yes... Yes I do.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright time for the next chapter. Lucy has learned some terrible news and now she must figure out what this means! Did her spirits know? What will become of them if they did? Lucy becomes a bit closer to someone and this scares the crap out of me and Loke! SO read and find out what happens! I got lots of reviews for the previous chapter and I would have updated sooner but... I've been busy. Please enjoy!**

Chapter 16

Previously in Gang Busting:

_Lucy was in the arms of another man sobbing her heart out. At first Natsu tensed up, ready to take out his still-present anger on the man holding Lucy. That was until the man looked up and Natsu recognized him as Lucy's spirit, Leo. The look in his eyes was pained and full of grief. "It was true." He said to Natsu._

Natsu's eyes widened a bit. So Samuel wasn't kidding around? He wasn't trying to make Lucy feel even worse than she already did? He took a step towards her. "Lucy…" he said. She turned her sobbing face towards him when she heard his voice. She looked a mess! Her hair was ruffled from her quick escape and tears wet her entire visage. Her mouth was quivering with held back sobs and her nose was red. Her eyes, though very watery, still held all the pain she was feeling. Natsu couldn't think of the words to say to her right now and he felt useless because of it. All he could do was open his arms and catch her as she rushed into them. Once he held her he could feel how much she was shaking. He sat down on an empty barrel and drew Lucy up onto his lap where she curled up, sobbing.

Natsu looked up at Leo who was still there. "Why didn't anybody just tell her the truth in the first place?" he asked rather roughly. Leo/Loke understood why he was angry and sat next to Natsu. "First off, I didn't know. I wasn't around when she was little. I was a spirit she herself acquired, not one handed down by her mother. Lucy saved me from obliteration when she was fifteen. I've been with her ever since. That's why she calls me Loke and not Leo. I went by that name while I roamed the earth. If you want you can call me that too." He said. Natsu nodded and indicated that Loke continue the story. "When Erza brought her here, Lucy sat down on that barrel and stared at the ground. She was still pretty shocked about what Samuel had said. Erza tried to make her feel better but it didn't work. Then she stood up and I think the look in her eyes scared Erza a bit because she backed away. Lucy summoned Capricorn, her mother's most faithful and loyal spirit. She demanded that he explain. She's never looked so angry in her life and I was afraid she would do something she would later regret so I came out of my own will and tried to reason with her." Loke's hands were beginning to clench into fists.

Natsu interrupted the story to ask, "What spirits did Lucy inherit from her mother?" Loke thought for a minute then said, "Capricorn, Cancer, Taurus and Horologium." Natsu nodded. "Ok, continue." He said. Loke took a calming breath and said, "Capricorn finally told us that when her mother got sick he could feel her magic power draining from her. He thought this was weird at first but didn't want to believe that somebody would poison his master. He said it was probably from the tea she'd had the day before she got sick. He looked very sad when he told us this and Lucy's eyes started to get really watery. Then she said, 'You guys promised. After I learned about my father you guys said you'd never keep secrets from me. I asked if there was anything else I should know and you all said NO! YOU LIED!' It was terrible…" Loke's hands were now full fists and he looked at them in his lap before continuing. "Capricorn tried to explain but she forced his gate closed which is usually very hard to do with a spirit of his caliber. That's when she… she went a little crazy. She started throwing things and kicking things and punching things and she was screaming for her mother. Erza restrained her and that's when she noticed me. She yelled at me to get out. She said she was going to end all her contracts with spirits and never be a Celestial Spirit mage again. I finally yelled that I had no idea about any of this because I wasn't around when she was little. She stopped yelling at me and that's about when she started sobbing. Erza let go of her and I caught her when she started to collapse. She kept telling me she was sorry and I told her it was ok. But it's not ok! We DID promise never to keep secrets from her! Spirits aren't supposed to lie! I can't believe they would hurt her this badly!" he finished roughly. Tears were now falling down his cheeks and splashing onto his fists.

Natsu looked at the girl in his arms. Somewhere in their conversation, she had fallen asleep, exhausted from her ordeal. Her face was still a mask of sadness and pain, even in sleep but at least now she could escape reality and get some respite. Erza had come back into the room about halfway into their conversation. "Natsu…" she said softly. He looked up at her. "I've never seen Lucy that angry or that hurt. And there wasn't anything I could do…" she said. Her face was pained and she looked so worried for her new found friend. Natsu shook his head. "All you had to do was be here and you were. You got her out of there before anything else could happen. Lucy would have learned about this from somebody and in a way it was good that she learned about it now. She has time to figure things out now." He said. Erza nodded and Natsu stood up. "We should be getting back. I'm going to take Lucy home and stay with her. Can you explain all this to the guild?" he asked. Erza nodded. Loke went back to the spirit realm but said he would come back as soon as Lucy woke up.

Natsu reached her apartment and used her key to get in. He laid her down in her bed and put the blankets over her. Then he sat down to wait until she woke up. He didn't want her to wake up alone. About an hour into her nap, there was noise from the chimney. Natsu tensed and stood, ready to kill whatever came out. Boy was he surprised when Gray came down the chimney! "What the hell Gray! And where are your clothes!" he said fiercely. Gray looked down surprised that his clothes were gone. Natsu's earlier comment had most of his attention though. "Don't you usually enter through the window? I don't think you can criticize how I enter her house. Anyway, how is she? Erza told us everything and everyone is worried." He said. Natsu turned back to her bed only to find his chair occupied by Erza. He jumped in surprise. "When did you get here?! And how did you get in?!" he yelped. Erza turned and shushed him, indicating the still sleeping girl.

"We wanted to make sure she was ok." Erza said. There was a knock at the door and Natsu briefly wondered if the entire guild was waiting outside. When he opened it he didn't find the entire guild but he did find Mira, Lisanna, Levy and Wendy outside along with Happy and Charle. He let them in though the apartment was starting to get crowded. He could no longer even see Lucy's bed what with all the people around it. Suddenly, everyone gasped as Lucy began to move around as she woke up. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. "What is everyone doing here?" she asked quietly. Mira was the one who answered. "We wanted to be sure you were alright. You received quite the shock back there and…" she trailed off not knowing what to say. Lucy frowned and a dangerous aura surrounded her. "He was right about my mother. And nobody thought it was smart to tell me beforehand!" she said, her voice dangerously low. Mirajane sweat dropped and everyone took a few safety steps back.

"Just remember we didn't know either Lucy." Mira said. Lucy's face cleared and she nodded. "Yeah I know. You guys have been amazing. I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me. I think I'm going to be alright. I just need a bit to process all of this and figure out what I'm going to do from here." She said. The others nodded and people started leaving so that she would have some time to herself. Soon, her apartment was empty except for her, Natsu and Happy. Neither one of them wanted to leave just yet because they were still worried for her. Lucy looked up at them after rubbing her tired eyes. "You guys won't lie to me right? If there was something I didn't know you would tell me right?" she asked. Natsu nodded. "Yeah. You know we would." He said. She sighed. "I just don't know who to believe or what to trust anymore."

Natsu sat on the bed next to her. "I'm here if you want to tell me anything." He said. Lucy reached for him and he pulled her into a hug. "Thank you Natsu. I think I'm going to be ok now. I need to shower and just… think for a while alright?" she whispered. He pulled back and nodded. "Come to the guild when you're ready ok? I can pick out a mission for us to go on. Maybe that'll take your mind off of things for a while." He suggested. At the word "mission" Lucy perked up a bit. "Yeah! That last one was a lot of fun!" she said. Natsu was relieved. At least some of the sparkle was back in her eyes. He stood and motioned to Happy and they leapt through the window and headed back for the guild.

Once they were gone, Lucy took a long, hot shower. She washed all the grime from the warehouse and all the salty stickiness from her tears off of her body. She couldn't wash all her troubles away but with time the wounds would heal. She soaked for a while in the bath to sort out her emotions. She was still very angry with some of her spirits mostly because she felt betrayed and they were the one group of friends she felt would never betray her. She was also very sad. The fact that her mother had been murdered only intensified the pain of her loss. Lucy felt she might have been able to move on when she still thought her mother had just died of sickness. Then it wasn't as if she needed to be avenged for anything. She understood a bit more of her father's insanity. She still didn't think he was doing the right thing but she understood the need to find out what really happened to her mother. Lucy dried herself off and went out into her room to change.

She had just finished pulling her hair up into a ponytail when she felt that she was not alone. "Loke." She said. It was a mere acknowledgement of his presence, nothing more. The lion spirit sighed from his place behind her. "I hope you aren't still mad at all of us." He said quietly. Lucy turned to face him. "I'm not mad at you. Or any of the others who honestly didn't know about this. But those that did betrayed me and I'm not too sure yet how I'm going to deal with it." She told him. Loke looked relieved to hear that she wasn't mad at him. "Well you should know that Aquarius was _very_ angry at them. I'm not too sure they will survive the punishment she is giving them. She might be rough on the outside but she does care about you Lucy." Loke told her. At his words, a small yet scary smile appeared on Lucy's face. She knew all too well how bad a raging Aquarius was.

It was in that moment that Aquarius herself appeared. "I've whipped them good brat!" she said, still holding her crop in her hand. Her glare was ever present on her face but it now seemed to match the glare on Lucy's face. "They were sorry?" she asked. Aquarius nodded, grinning evilly. "They'll think twice about ever keeping a secret from you again. Even Capricorn." She confirmed. Lucy nodded. "Thank you Aquarius." She said. "I think maybe that will be enough. Though they better not expect me to summon them anytime soon." Aquarius nodded. "I had fun! You just call me if you need anyone else whipped." She said. She began to fade back into the Spirit Realm. Before disappearing completely, she said, "You're much better now that you have a _boyfriend_." Lucy just rolled her eyes at that one. It was true though, Aquarius had been much nicer ever since Lucy had gotten together with Natsu. Loke sat in a corner terrified by the exchange. "L-Lucy?" he said, hoping to get the nice, lovable one he knew and not the monster he'd just seen. She turned to him, her face now back to normal and the sparkle back in her eyes. "I'm good now! I didn't even have to think of a punishment. I'm still not sure I forgive them yet but this will do for now!" she said, sounding more cheerful than she had that whole day. Loke just nodded and said, "Well then I'll be going now." He disappeared in a glow of gold and Lucy decided it was time to do a little retail therapy! She would go to the guild tomorrow and then go on a mission with Natsu. Things would get better. She hoped.

**And there you have it! I hope you like this one though I'm not too proud of how it ended. A little side note to you all, the next couple of weeks are gonna be SUPER busy for me. I have three tests and then I go home for Thanksgiving. Since it's a holiday, I may not have time to write so I may not be able to update. Please have a little patience and understanding as things are winding down as we approach Christmans and so I will be unable to update as often. I will try my best because your reviews keep me going! **

**I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving just in case I don't update before then!'**

**Love to all my readers,**

**CC22**


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm so sorry! It has been SUPER busy around here what with Thanksgiving and then preparing for finals that I haven't been able to write much of anything! I finally finished this chapter and wrote a starting chapter for a new story which I will post after this is up so look for it. I'm going to call it Their Highschool Lives. It's another high school story but I'm trying to make it a bit more realistic... ish kinda... so be looking for it if you like this story! There are many pairing in that one.**

**Anyway! I finished this chapter and I really hope you enjoy it. Unfortuately the updates won't be on a schedule until things calm down. That may not be until after Christmas so please bare with me! I'm trying to balance everything and right now school comes first. Enjoy this chapter and if lots of people review I will try to update faster!**

Chapter 17

Lucy walked into the guild and everybody looked her way as the guild got quiet. They had all heard by now what had happened and were rather worried about her and didn't know how to react to her. Lucy, however, just flashed a brilliant smile to the whole guild. "Good morning everyone!" she called. Then her eyes surveyed the whole guild until she spotted Natsu. "Hey Natsu! Wanna go on a mission? I kinda blew all my money yesterday shopping." She asked him. Natsu jumped at the chance. Lucy looked at Erza and Gray and said, "If you guys feel up to it you could come too!" Her smile was wide and seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face. Natsu jumped up from his spot at a table with Erza and Gray. He ran to the board and pulled a random mission down and gave it to Mira to log in the missions book. Erza and Gray stood as well and said, "Sure Lucy. It looks like Natsu picked the mission so let's agree to meet in one hour at the train station." Lucy nodded and ran back towards her house to grab her already packed bags.

The guild stared in awe at her receding figure. They all wondered how she recovered so quickly from something as traumatic as learning that your mother was in fact murdered and didn't die of sickness like you'd been told all your life. Natsu was especially worried and that was why about twenty minutes later he found himself jumping up to her windowsill and making his way into her house. Something didn't seem right about Lucy and even if the rest of the guild was happy that she seemed fine he wasn't too sure. Lucy looked up from her desk when he came in and her smile was back on her face. "Natsu!" she cried. He sat on her bed and looked at her with his head tilted to the side. Happy flew in close behind him having decided to go on this mission. Lucy raised an eyebrow in question to Natsu's actions. Natsu sat forward a bit and asked, "Are you really alright Lucy? You were in pretty bad shape yesterday when Loke and I took you home." Lucy's smile faltered for just a second but Natsu caught it and she could tell that he had so she just let it slip off her face. "I'll be alright soon Natsu. It's a lot to take in right now but I'm going to be fine. I got over her death once and I can do it again. Aquarius punished the liars on my belt already but I am not sure how long it will take me to forgive them. I just want to take some time to forget about this and to kick somebody's ass." She said.

Natsu smiled his goofy, contagious grin. "Alright! But remember you can talk to me about everything ok Lucy!" he said. Lucy was surprisingly touched by his words. She stood and walked over to him, giving him a kiss. She had meant for it to be a quick kiss but as soon as her lips touched his he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down onto his lap. He tilted her head back and deepened the kiss until they were forced apart to breathe. Lucy put her forehead against his and closed her eyes. Her arm lifted until her hand was resting on his cheek. "I love you Lucy, remember that." Natsu said quietly. Lucy's chocolate orbs opened slowly and a real, soft smile spread across her face. "Thank you Natsu. I don't know what I would do without you." She said.

"They liiiiiiiiiiiike each other!" Happy said, startling the pair who had forgotten that he was even there. Lucy blushed but then began to laugh until the tears streamed down her face. She clung to Natsu as she laughed, burying her face into his shoulder. He laughed too and reached out to pull Happy into the group hug. Happy didn't understand quite what he'd done except that it had gotten Lucy to laugh and that was all that mattered. They fell back onto her bed and Lucy rolled off of Natsu, pulling the little blue cat with her. Happy sat on her stomach as she wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks, a smile adorning her face like a beam of light. In reference to Happy's earlier comment she said, "Yeah we do Happy. We really do."

Erza and Gray were waiting for the two of them at the train station as they came running up just in time. Natsu slowed up as soon as he saw the iron monster waiting on the line. He began to tug backward on Lucy's hand. "Maybe we should walk! It would be great exercise for us!" he suggested. Lucy just laughed and turned to face him. "I'll let you lay on my lap. Besides it's only an hour. Don't tell me you're letting a measly train beat you!" she teased. Natsu's other hand ignited as he glared at his adversary. "I'll never be beat by something like that!" he said. Then he marched onto the train as Erza saw to their bags and Gray led them to their seats.

As soon as the whistle sounded and the train began to move, Natsu's head collapsed on Lucy's lap. Lucy just smiled softly and ran her fingers through his hair. Natsu fell asleep about half way into the train ride and Erza took advantage of his slumber to make sure Lucy was really ok. Lucy glanced up at the two of them when Erza asked her question. She took a minute to gather her answer and said, "I'm going to be fine but it might take a bit. But as long as you guys promise that you won't lie to me or betray me I think I'll be fine." Erza's eyes widened at her words but she and Gray nodded. "We won't lie to you. And I will personally punish anyone else who does." Erza said. Gray cringed at her expression, fear springing into his eyes. Lucy smiled at them and nodded, accepting their promises.

The train pulled into the station and Natsu was up immediately. Lucy and Happy both secretly knew that he hadn't actually been asleep on the train ride. He was in a stupor but not asleep. And he'd heard everything that went down on the ride between the three other passengers. He was very glad to hear Erza's words and his respect for Gray increased greatly. Not that he didn't have respect for Gray, he just never admitted it.

The town they had entered was called Sakura Town. This was because of the many uses of sakura that the town had implemented. The color was everywhere and at first that was pretty but it got really tiring. The job request was to stop some thugs who were terrorizing the citizens so much that nobody dared go out at night. They had arrived in the middle of the afternoon and had a few hours to kill before they could finish the job. Erza wanted to go get some information from the locals, Gray wanted to see if he could find where the thugs hid during the day and Natsu wanted food and lots of it. Lucy wanted to do some shopping but was dragged off by a jubilant Natsu who was glad to be off of that train. She decided that if she had to sit through one of Natsu's nasty displays of eating then he would have to endure a shopping trip for her. Of course she wasn't about to tell him that until they'd eaten and paid so he would have no argument to get out of it!

They met at the only inn in the small town to discuss their findings. Lucy was proud of some of the outfits she'd found though she knew it didn't help on the mission but… Nobody complained since she'd been through way too much to yell at her over a few outfits. Erza found out that the thugs were basically causing terror and sometimes taking some money from the locals. Gray had been unsuccessful though he believed the best place was among the warehouses at the edge of town. Erza decided they would look there first.

It turned out to be a good idea because in the very last warehouse, which also happened to be the most run down, they found the thugs. The confrontation began and for once, Lucy was glad for the fighting. She summoned Loke and together she and her new favorite spirit battled some thugs. The others were easily defeating theirs too and it was not too long after the fight began that it ended. The leader lay on the floor with Erza's sword pointed at his throat while Gray went to get the authorities. The leader was sweating bullets but then he saw Lucy and his gaze widened. "You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of Layla Heartfilia would you?" he asked. Lucy nodded, her eyes narrowing. Natsu stiffened and went to stand beside his girlfriend. "Do you know who is responsible for her death?" Lucy asked with an icy voice. The thug stiffened again in fear. Lucy could be quite scary on her own.

He shook his head when Erza's sword came closer to his neck. "I just heard through the underground that she was a target while ago. It was before I was leader of this gang. Somebody wanted her dead for some reason. I never learned why except that it had to do with a baby. You looked so much like her that I had to ask. I swear I don't know who did it only that they were from an old gang known as Blood Scythe." Erza glared at the man and leaned towards him. "Where is that gang now?" she asked menacingly. The thug was now sitting in a pool of his own sweat. "I-I-I-I swear I d-don't know!" he said. "Last I heard they were disbanded! You could ask the leader of the Gremlins though! I heard a lot of them joined him!" Erza hid her surprise at this and Lucy abruptly left the warehouse. "I'll meet you all back at the inn." She said.

She hadn't walked very far when she heard footsteps behind her. Without turning she knew it was Natsu. When he caught up her hand instinctively shot out to grasp his. She didn't say anything and he didn't push her for anything though she caught him sneaking glances at her every once and a while. They made it back to the inn and Natsu followed Lucy to her room. Lay on the bed and patted the place beside her, inviting Natsu to lay next to her. He complied and wrapped his arms around her. She tucked her head under his chin and after a moment said, "So it's possible that my father is employing the person who killed Mama." Natsu sighed but waited for her to continue. "What I don't get is why anyone would want my Mama dead. I mean, she wasn't mean to anyone and she always tried her best to help anyone in need." Lucy eventually said. Natsu thought back to what the thug had said and realized something. "The leader said it had something to do with a baby. It could be you or Laxus. Maybe it has something to do with Ivan? Either way, we have a little more information but not enough to know the whole story. We'll keep looking but for now I think you should try not to think about it." He said.

Lucy thought about his words for a few moments then leaned a bit away from him so she could see his face. "Natsu do you think we'll ever figure this out? Will I ever get to have a normal life without my father hanging over me?" she asked. Natsu brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "Yeah. We'll figure it out and I'll make sure you get to have a normal life." He said softly. Lucy closed her eyes and put her forehead against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you Natsu." She said. "I needed to hear that."

When Erza and Gray came back they found Lucy and Natsu asleep in each other's arms, serene expressions on their faces.

**Well?! Didja like it? Please let me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Well! I didn't die! I'm back from a LONG break in writing but never fear I did finish a chapter for you guys! I must admitt the end is near but if you aren't already you should check out my new release! It's called "Their Highschool Lives" and I'm kinda proud of how it's going so far. Its Christmas here and I've opened my gifts, one of which was 1D's new album! YAY! I love them! So I was so happy I decided to update for you. And I'm going to update-bomb my other story with several new chapters in the coming hours. So check it out! **

**This chapter is fluffy and I had tons of fun writing it. It takes a miniscule break from the action but I think you all will be fine with how things turn out for them... ;)**

Chapter 18

They returned to the guild which decided to throw them a party for their success. Lucy thought it was just an excuse for the drinking and wildness. The guild was ALWAYS having a party. It was just how they were and Lucy was so glad for that. It helped her forget the looming black cloud of her father and his gang. She had been doing a lot of thinking about that lately. Mirajane slid a milkshake to her and leaned over on her elbows to look at Lucy's face. "What are you thinking about?" she asked. Lucy looked up to Mira as a sister and so was alright with telling her what she was thinking. "I was just thinking about what we learned from that leader of the gang we took care of." She admitted. "If my dad has my mother's murderer in his own gang then either Samuel lied about why my father started this gang thing or my father has no idea that he employs mom's murderer." She continued. "And if it is the first then that's even worse than I thought. But if it is the latter then my daddy is not completely guilty. Because whoever is fooling him into letting them work for him must really want him dead too."

Mira frowned at this. There was a thought in the back of her head that was trying to push its way into her consciousness but couldn't make it. Lucy was having a similar feeling, like she should know who it was that was responsible. Like the answer was in her brain but it was eluding her and that was driving her crazy. Mira shook her head to clear it and said, "Well don't think too much about it. We will all figure it out in time. Right now you should enjoy yourself." Lucy thought she had some sound advice. Thanking her with a smile, she took her milkshake and headed over to a table where Natsu, Wendy and Erza were sitting.

The trio looked up upon her arrival and smiles adorned their faces as they greeted her. Lucy talked with them for a while then decided to go back home. She never expected the surprise that greeted her. Walking into her room she screamed when she saw a tall blond man sitting in the chair in her living room. "Is that any way to greet your fiancée?" the man asked. "What the hell are you doing here?! And we are not getting married!" she yelled. She reached behind her and grabbed her keys. "Now now Lucy. You don't want to do that do you? I mean, if you do a lot of trouble will be caused and maybe your house will be destroyed." Sting said, shaking his head. "And about the second part of your unladylike yelling: I bought this ring for you." Sting got down on one knee just like Lucy had always wanted a man to do for her one day. "So Lucy, will you marry me? Or face the consequences?" he asked.

Lucy stared at the blond man in front of her. Her face was a mask of horror. The window flew open at the same time as she slapped Sting across the face. Natsu, with his advanced hearing, had heard the proposal and it had made him mad until he recognized the voice. Then he'd just been worried. His mouth dropped open when he saw what was going on in the room. Sting went sprawling on the floor, the ring box dropping. "You bastard!" Lucy yelled. "As if I would marry a man as mean as you! You're horrible! You and your family go around killing for fun! I hate you!" She grabbed the stunned blonde by the shirt and dragged him to the door. She then Lucy Kicked him out the door, slamming it right in his face. Sting recovered when people started laughing at him being kicked out. "You'll regret this Lucy! You'll marry me one day!" he yelled at her house. Then he stomped away to lick his wounds.

Lucy sagged against the door in relief. She'd actually been quite scared when she'd seen Sting in her room. She knew he was only proposing because her father made him. He didn't really want her other than for her body and her money. Natsu approached her rather carefully and touched her shoulder gently. Lucy spun on him and grabbed him by the shirt. Natsu became very nervous until her lips slammed into his. His arms went around her waist, pulling her even closer to him. Her hands tangled themselves in his hair as she tried to pull him even closer. She parted her mouth slightly and he took the invitation to explore her mouth. Lucy moaned softly as his tongue battled with hers. Natsu's mouth left hers to plant kisses down her neck. Lucy shivered under his touch but wrapped her arms around him tightly. Suddenly Natsu pulled back. "I'm not gonna be able to hold back if I don't stop." He said quietly. He was respecting Lucy's decision to wait. This made Lucy even more sure of what she'd been thinking about for a while now. "Please don't stop." She whispered. Natsu tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. "But Luce…" he started. She cut him off with another mind blowing kiss. "I'm sure." She said against his lips to answer his unasked question.

…

Lying in Lucy's bed looking at her angelic face, Natsu was amazed at how much he loved this woman. She was everything to him and more. Nothing was the same if she wasn't there and his day didn't start until she appeared by his side. Nothing was ever going to hurt this woman if he could help it. He was going to make sure she was always smiling. He brushed the hair off her face and drew her closer to him. She began to stir against him and he bent his head to see her chocolate orbs open slowly. She smiled as she remembered the events of the previous night. She could see Natsu's onyx orbs looking down at her and his soft smile which only she ever got to see. She buried her face in the small hollow between his shoulder and his neck, sighing with content. "I love you." She said. His arms tightened around her as he pulled her closer. "I don't ever want you to leave me." She added as she tilted back to look at him. Natsu took a breath. What he said next scared him more than anything else ever had but he knew he had to let her know his heart. "I love you so much Lucy. You're my everything and I need you so much it hurts when you aren't with me. I don't ever want you to leave me either and it scared the shit outa me when I heard what that bastard Sting said. If you ever leave me, I think I might just die." He said. Lucy placed her forehead against his. "I don't want to marry him. You mean so much to me Natsu." She said. Natsu looked into her eyes and said, "Then marry me. Don't marry that blond bastard. I will do my best to keep you happy and I'll protect you from your father and Sting. I promise I won't ever leave you or hurt you!"

Lucy's eyes filled with big silver tears. Sure, it wasn't the proposal she'd pictured in all her daydreams and all but it was better. Because Lucy could tell that Natsu meant everything he said. He was going to make her happy, though she would be happy as long as he was there with her. She began to smile her radiant smile which only appeared when she was truly happy. "All my life, I've been looking for a Prince who would make my every wish come true. I wanted him to come swooping in and save me from my father. I didn't think it would be the Dragon that would make save me and make me so happy. I didn't even imagine that I would fall for him. But I did and I will never regret it. I want nothing more than to stay with you forever. So yes you idiot Dragon. I'll marry you!" she said. Natsu leaned down and captured her lips in the sweetest of kisses.

When they pulled away, Natsu said, "I'll get you a proper ring ok? I don't care when you wanna do it but I think we should get married at the guild not the cathedral." Lucy nodded. "The guild is my home and everyone there is my family. I wouldn't want to get married anywhere else." She sat up and stretched luxuriantly. "We should go tell them." She said. Natsu sat up slowly as she got out of bed and headed for the shower. Natsu watched her go, a smile on his face. He still couldn't quite believe she'd said yes. He wanted to climb the clock tower in Magnolia and shout it to the world that Lucy was his and she wanted it that way. Lucy came out half an hour later wearing her outfit for the day and Natsu had already taken that opportunity to dress himself.

They headed to the guild and told their news once they'd gotten the attention of everyone. Mirajane fainted into her brother's arms and Lisanna jumped up and down with glee. Levy blushed for her friend and ran to give her a hug. Gray punched Natsu which started a brawl and Lucy just couldn't stop smiling. Laxus grabbed her before a table could hit her and pulled her away from the girls who'd surrounded her for details. She'd told them what happened and how he'd proposed and Mirajane had fainted again. The boys had gotten the details out of Natsu the only way they knew how, by fighting. Fighting became their language which they used whenever they wanted to know something but were rather embarrassed to talk about it.

Laxus took his half-sister to the balcony above the hall and turned to face her. "Are you sure you wanna do this Lucy? You aren't just doing this to get away from Sting or piss him off? Because he will learn of this and he will be very mad." He asked. Lucy smiled at her brother. She could have gotten mad at him for saying those things but she knew he was just protecting her. "I'm not doing it for that though Natsu said he'd protect me from Sting. I'm doing this because I love him. I really do Laxus. And I know he'll be good to me so don't worry." She said. "Damn straight!" Natsu yelled from below. His super human hearing had picked up on their conversation. Laxus leaned over the railing and said, "If you hurt my sister a rain of hell will be upon you and I'll make sure you don't live to see another day!" Natsu grinned his trademark grin. "Ok!" he agreed. Laxus blinked in surprise at his answer but a small smirk grew on his face. He nodded his approval and watched as Lucy, who'd climbed down the stairs while he'd been threatening her fiancée, reached him and his arm slipped around her waist like it belonged there. She leaned against him too and it was obvious to everyone the way they just fit together.

Makarov, who'd been watching and listening from the railing, also nodded his approval of the match. Natsu had become much stronger since Lucy came into his life. Makarov theorized that it was because now Natsu had something to protect and if there was one thing Dragons were good at it was protecting their treasure. And Lucy too would finally find some true happiness in her life. She was able to choose Natsu for herself instead of having him chosen for her. She would have to deal with his immaturity but somehow he thought Natsu would mature a bit for her. The smile on her face was one the guild had never seen before and it was one only Natsu could evoke from her. Makarov held his hand up for silence which was granted instantly. He looked at the couple in the center of the guild and said, "Well I for one think this is the best thing to ever happen to the guild. I wish you both much happiness." Lucy grinned at his statement and said, "Jii-chan! We wanna get married here. Would that be ok?" Makarov smiled at his half-granddaughter. "Of course! Now, we must celebrate this occasion! We will party tonight!" he yelled. The guild erupted in cheers.

**YAY! They're engaged! I had fun writing the proposal scene! It was really nice in my head so... I hope you all enjoyed this and I hope you had a Merry Christmas where ever you are!**

**CC22**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'M ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEE! Hi! I'm back! I've been ghosting the FanFiction and following stories because for a while that was all I could do! First I had writer's block for this story but that only lasted for about a week! Then when I went to post I found out that my computer crashed and I lost this entire story. I basically had to start from scratch. Add into that a dodgy internet connection and the death of a much beloved cat and you can see why I haven't updated in a while. This story is very close to the end. I think maybe two more maybe three more chapters are left before we say goodbye to this story. Since I am finally back my other stories should be getting updated and I've got several more ideas on the way for new stories! So yay!**

**Before I can continue to the story I must send an epic shout out to .2.0! Your lovely PM was so special and touching. Honestly I was afraid that everyone had quit with this story since I couldn't be on in a while but you showed me there were still fans out there! So thank you and this chapter is dedicated to you! Enjoy!**

Chapter 19

A few weeks passed after the happy couple announced their news. They decided to let Mira plan the wedding since they really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. However, they made Mira promise that she would reserve the date until after they defeated Lucy's father. Lucy wanted the day to be a happy one, not one shadowed by the current circumstances. She threw herself into investigating everything that was known about the Gremlins and even the Sabers. She and Levy spent many hours in the guild's library poring over old news clippings and police files which the Council let them have. Natsu and sometimes even Gajeel would bring them food and try to help. This "help" usually ended in the boys being thrown from the room because they were distracting the two girls.

Natsu missed Lucy. She was always back in that library studying and even when they went on missions she was focused on gathering any information she could to help the case along. He wanted to spend time with his fiancée but when Lucy got home she was usually too tired to do things with him and she just went to bed. Laxus had also noticed his sister's behavior and about two weeks into it, he decided enough was enough. He walked into the library like a man on a mission. Levy was asleep on a couch with a book on her lap while Lucy was still reading some papers and frowning. "Lucy." Laxus said. Lucy looked up and offered him a quick smile. "Hi Nii-san! Listen I think I'm getting closer. I mean, all the evidence is pointing to… what? Why are you looking at me like that?" she paused, noticing his stare.

Laxus took a seat next to Lucy. "When was the last time you really talked to Natsu?" he asked her. She scoffed at his implication and said, "Last night of course. I always make sure to say goodnight before I go to bed." Laxus sighed. "That's not a real conversation Lucy. Natsu misses you. He is constantly staring towards the doors to the library when he's here at the guild and he looks so sad and dejected when he walks back to your place alone. It's pathetic really sis and you have to stop ignoring him." He said. Lucy frowned. "I am not ignoring him! I am just really tired when I get back is all! Besides, he could come in here and help me if he really wants to see me so bad." She pointed out. Laxus nodded. "Yeah except if he does you'll just kick him out. You and I both know he is not one for sitting around reading about problems. He likes to punch them and move on. Can't really say I blame him either." Laxus could see Lucy gearing up to respond so he raised his hands in front of him and cut her off saying, "Look Lucy all I'm saying is if you keep this up you're going to lose him. He's starting to think you value this investigation more than him. He just wants you to spend some time with him or at least talk to him! It's your life sis. Just don't come crying to me if he decides he's had enough of coming in second." Lucy gaped at her brother in shock. Laxus stood up and walked out of the library, heading back to the bar.

Mirajane approached Laxus as he sat down. "So did you talk to her?" she asked. Laxus nodded. "I give it five seconds." He said. Mirajane counted down in her head and sure enough, just as she reached "one", a blond head burst out of the library and ran streaking out of the guild. She smiled at Laxus who just shrugged in response.

Lucy ran faster than she'd ever run in her life. His name pounded in her head like a life line. _He can't leave me! I can't lose him! How could I be so stupid?! _The door to her apartment opened with a loud BANG. "NATSU!" Lucy cried. He came running. "What?! What is it? What happened?!" he shouted. He was almost knocked off his feet as her body collided with his in a bone crushing hug. She was sobbing loudly and clinging to him as if he was the last solid thing left on this earth. "Lucy…?" he asked. He stood frozen, not sure what to do. Lucy noticed he was not hugging her back and she pulled back and said, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking! I didn't realize! I promise I'll do better just please; please don't leave me!" Natsu was now thoroughly confused. "Leave you? Why would I do that?" he asked the still crying girl. "Because I'm a horrible, horrible fiancée!" she cried. "I ignored you and I kicked you out of the library and I didn't stop and think how you just want to spend time with me! I made the investigation more important than you and that's awful! I haven't even told you I loved you for a whole week!" This last realization made her begin to sob again. "I love you Natsu. I love you! I love you! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Natsu stared at the crying girl in front of him and couldn't help but let a small smile come to his face. She looked like a little crying kitten the way she was rubbing at her eyes and sobbing. She kept saying she loved him and she was so sorry and he couldn't help but feel bad that he was letting this go on. Gently, he took his fiancée into his arms and held her close. "Shh Lucy it's okay. You're not a horrible fiancée. Sure I've been feeling a little lonely these past few days and I've missed you like crazy but I understand why you've been acting this way. I really feel bad that I can't help you but I'm not good with sitting still for long periods of time. But none of that means I want to leave you. I'm not going anywhere Lucy and I still love you. I always will." He said softly into her ear.

Lucy's sobs quieted as he continued reaffirming his love for her. Finally, she stopped crying altogether. Natsu began to pull away but Lucy tightened her grip around his torso. "Lucy? Are we ok now?" Natsu asked her softly. Lucy shook her head. "I don't wanna let go of you." She said stubbornly. Natsu laughed. "There's the Lucy I know and love!" he said. Lucy blushed against his chest. Natsu removed her arms from around him but kept hold of her hand. Lucy weaved their fingers together and Natsu grinned down at her. "Come on." He said to her. "Let's go to the sakura park." They walked together hand in hand to the park and sat down under one of the trees. Lucy pulled herself onto his lap and he wrapped his arms around her. She tucked her head underneath his chin and smiled softly. They sat like that for a while, talking about nothing and everything. Just as they were about to leave the park and head home for the evening, Lucy stopped. "Natsu?" she asked. "Hm?" Natsu hummed in response. "If I ever start to ignore you like that again… will you tell me? I don't want you to feel second to anything ever. You're first in my eyes and you always will be." She said. Natsu lowered his head to give her a searing kiss. "I know that Lucy. But yeah, if you ever act weird like that again I'll tell you. Though that might happen a lot. You're really weird Lucy." Lucy frowned, "I am not weird!" she cried.

"You are! Lushy is weird!" a small voice rang out. Lucy turned and glared. "Shut up stupid cat! And where did you come from anyway!" Happy flew to land on Natsu's head. "Wahhh! Natsu! Lushy said I was stupid!" he cried. Natsu smiled and said, "You probably just startled her Happy! She couldn't smell you because she's weird." Happy grinned. "Aye sir!" Lucy glared at the pair. "What the hell?!" she cried. "Smelling people is weird! That means you two are weird! Not me!" She smacked Natsu's shoulder. "Lushy's weird! Lushy's weird!" Happy chanted. He flew up to dodge the hand the came his way. Lucy began to chase the cat and her fiancé who were running away calling her weird. All three of them were laughing by the time they got back to Lucy's apartment.

Later that night the three of them were lying on Lucy's bed ready for sleep when Natsu spoke up. "Lucy you know we were just teasing you right? I mean, you are weird but I love your weird." Lucy giggled and kissed Natsu's cheek. "I know silly. I love you too." Happy couldn't resist. "They liiiiiiiiike each other!" Now Lucy was laughing. She reached up and placed Happy on her stomach. "I love you too Happy." To her surprise, Happy blushed at her statement. Then tiny little tears appeared at the corner of his eyes and he buried his face into her chest as he stated loudly, "I love Lushy tooooooo!" Lucy rubbed the fur at the top of his head while Natsu slung one arm over her waist and pulled the two of them close to his chest. "Alright let's go to sleep you two!" he said. Lucy and Happy snuggled into Natsu's warm chest. Just as she was falling asleep she murmured, "Natsu's warm…" Natsu smiled. His smile grew bigger when he heard his Exceed partner say, "Aye sir…" He pulled them closer and buried his nose in Lucy's hair. Oh how he loved these two!

**And that's where I'm going to end it for today! I hope you enjoyed this installment. Did it have enough fluff for you? I promise the main plot keeps going next time we meet. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! I really missed all of you and I'm so glad to be able to be back!**

**Lots of Love!**

**CC22**


End file.
